


Do Not Dare Not to Dare

by heiressofanor



Category: Chronicles of Narnia - All Media Types, Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Amputee Hiccup, Car Accidents (mentioned), Crossover, Cursed Relationships, Disney References, Divorce, Domesticity, DreamWorks references, During Regina's First Dark Curse, Emma's Yellow Bug, F/M, Fairy Tale Retellings, Family Reunions, Flashbacks, Friendship, Gen, Golden Age (Narnia), Granny's Diner, Huntsman | Sheriff Graham Lives, King Arthur Legend, Lucy has Magic, Magic, Mystery, Nursery Rhyme Characters, Once Upon a Time Season One, Past Relationship(s), Post - Prince Caspian, Preteens, Recovered Memories, Roommates, Secrets, Storybrooke, Storybrooke Academy, Swan Princess (1994) References, Teen Angst, Teen Pregnancy, Teenagers, The Enchanted Forest, Veteran Phoebus, Young Love, operation cobra
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-06
Updated: 2016-07-08
Packaged: 2018-05-27 18:09:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 29,168
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6294514
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heiressofanor/pseuds/heiressofanor
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>All it takes is one simple twist of fate for Lucy and her siblings to wind up in the Enchanted Forest and get caught up in Regina's curse. Now in Storybrooke, these four, like everyone else, have no memory of their true selves. Will the bonds they've formed during the curse last past its breaking? What do Jefferson and Paige have to do with the Royal Four anyway?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Road Less Traveled

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted on fanfiction.net under my same penname.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meet Lenore Gold.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spoilers: Narnia up to the end of Prince Caspian; Once begins in Season 1, but flashbacks may contain spoilers from any of the later seasons.
> 
> Disclaimer: I own nothing. I am not C.S. Lewis and I certainly did not create Once Upon a Time, not matter how wonderful the show may be.
> 
> AN: This is my first foray into the world of Once Upon a Time fanfiction, but hopefully not my last. I hope I do the series justice!
> 
> AN2: Flashbacks are in italics.

** Chapter One: The Road Less Traveled **

 

                _The threads of fate posed so many possibilities; each flashed before her eyes for the briefest of moments before disappearing like dust in the wind.  But in each possibility she saw the sorrow and pain of her siblings and sought to correct it.  There!  She tugged on the strand and time stood still. This was the best possibility, the one with the least suffering.  She knew now why Aslan had given her this gift.  So many roads that could have ended tragically for the Royal Four, but this one—it was a long road and lightly traveled, but somehow Lucy knew that it was the one that they must follow.  A small tug was all it took for her to alter their fate._

“Do we have any Lucky Charms left, Papa?” asked the brunette teenager, rummaging around in the near empty pantry.

                “I don’t know why you eat that crap, Lenore,” said the middle-aged man, leaning heavily on his cane as he carried two bowls and two spoons to the small kitchen table.

                “Oh, Papa, it’s all about taste,” Lenore said with a small laugh.  “Besides that, I’m a teenager; I’m genetically pre-programmed to like sweet stuff.”  She finally found the near empty box of her favorite cereal hiding way in the back.  “You want the Cheerios this morning or oatmeal squares?”

                “Cheerios, please,” the man said.   He sat down heavily in the wooden kitchen chair and leaned his cane against the table.

                “We need to go grocery shopping soon, Papa,” said Lenore, shutting the pantry door with her bare foot.  She set the two boxes on the table and stepped over to the shiny silver fridge to get the carton of milk.  “Do you want a banana with your Cheerios?  We’ve got a couple left.”

                “Only if you have some too, Lenore dear,” he replied.  “You know I hate it when you eat only that sugary crap before school.”

                Lenore laughed and set the milk and a banana on the table as she took her seat beside her Papa.  “Split one instead?” she bargained.

                “Oh very well,” he said with a sigh.  “I hope your lunch is healthier than this.”  He eyed her bowl with disgust as she poured the cereal jam-packed with colorful marshmallows into it.

                “Today’s taco day,” she said with a cheeky grin.

                “Of course it is,” he said with a sigh.  He reached over and picked up the Cheerios, pouring his bowl about half full.  As Lenore poured milk into her cereal, he cut the banana in half.  He set half in front of his daughter and the other half was cut up further and put into his bowl.  “Shall we go to the market after you get out of school this afternoon?”

                “Yes please,” said Lenore, her spoon raised halfway to her mouth.  “I don’t know about you, but I can’t eat spaghetti for one more night.”  Her Papa chuckled; such was a typical morning at the Gold house.

_Tobias Gold had just turned forty-three when he met her.  Tabitha Roland was a grad student at Boston College at the time.  She was passionate, fiery, and wild and she had such big plans for her life.  She was something of a classic beauty with her porcelain skin and raven curls, which framed her oval face and accentuated her eerie blue eyes.  Men flocked to her like flies to honey and she loved it.  One day she took pity on the crippled, middle-aged lawyer who had come to speak in her ethics class.  She invited him to lunch at a cozy, off-campus diner that was frequented by the more serious-minded grad students and the rest was history._

_He was hooked right from the start.  She was everything he never knew he wanted in a woman and so much more.  Unfortunately for him, she was above all else a gold-digger looking for some poor old sap to latch onto like a leech so that she could drain him dry.   Once she had sunk her claws into Tobias, he was helpless to break free.  He wasn’t stupid; he noticed that she always wanted to go to the fanciest restaurants and that only the most expensive gifts would please her vain little heart, but he was simply so deeply infatuated with her that he didn’t care._

 

Lenore had always preferred to walk to school, despite the distance.  Her father, for the most part, indulged her, though he did insist on giving her a ride from their home into town.  Most days Lenore allowed this, though on occasion she rose extra early just so that she could walk through the woods that stood between their old Victorian house and the town.  Today she allowed her Papa to drive her to his shop before walking to school from there.  As always, she paused in front of the old library, topped by a large clock that was stuck perpetually at 8:15.  She waved to Archie and Pongo as they passed by on their morning walk and smiled shyly at the Mayor, who would occasionally smile back at her.  Today was not one of those days.

She found out why when she arrived at school.  She was greeted by her friend Paige Francis, a blonde girl four years below her.  “Did you hear?” the younger girl said, tugging Lenore by the arm into Miss Blanchard’s classroom.  “Henry’s missing!”

“What?” cried Lenore.  Henry Mills was the same age as Paige and the three kids were thick as thieves.  The two ten-year-olds were in Miss Blanchard’s fourth-grade class together, but they always managed to find Lenore during lunch and at recess to spend time with the older girl.  To hear that Henry was missing was jarring, to say the least.  “What happened?”

Paige tugged Lenore, who was about the same size as her, into one of the desks in the back of the room.  “No one really knows,” she whispered.  “Madam Mayor is frantic; I guess he didn’t show up to therapy with Archie last night.”  It was one of the town’s worst kept secrets that the mayor’s son was in therapy.  “She has Sheriff Graham running himself ragged trying to track him down.”

“He didn’t say anything to you?” asked Lenore.

“No.  You?”

Lenore shook her head, her chestnut waves falling into her face.  “He’s been oddly distant lately,” she confessed.  “He’s been reading that fairy tale book Miss Blanchard gave him a lot.”

“Has he told you his theory?” asked Paige, her dark brown eyes curious.

“No he—”

“Lenore, shouldn’t you be headed to your own classroom?”

Lenore looked up at Miss Blanchard sheepishly.  “Sorry, Miss Blanchard,” she said.  “Paige was just telling me about Henry.”

Miss Blanchard’s green eyes softened.  “Yes, we all heard about that.  Well, you know I don’t mind you girls talking before class, but I also know that Mr. Peace doesn’t like his students to be tardy.”

“Of course, Miss Blanchard,” said Lenore, picking up her yellow daisy-covered backpack from where she had dropped it by the door.  “We’ll talk more at lunch, Paige,” she called back to her friend as she ventured into the last minute crush of students in the hallway rushing to beat the bell to class.

 

_Tobias and Tabitha were married on a sunny Saturday afternoon in late June.  Theirs was a whirlwind romance, full of fire and passion.  But despite Tobias’ best efforts it was snuffed out like a flame before it had a chance to grow.  Three months into their marriage, Tabitha announced her pregnancy.  Tobias had been so overjoyed at his impending fatherhood (something he was sure he would never get to experience so late in his life) that he failed to hear the disappointment in her voice as she gave him the news.  He failed to see the slight frown that would become a permanent fixture on her otherwise perfect face in the months to come._

_Tabitha gave birth to a beautiful, healthy baby girl as March roared in like a lion.  Friends and family alike were too polite to mention the young mother’s cold disinterest in her child or the way that she would avoid holding her, as if she were afraid the child would pass on some disease simply by touching her skin.  Tobias himself was too enraptured by this small being that he had helped to create, and that had been entrusted into his care, to notice anything beyond his precious baby girl._

“I think I saw Henry’s birth mom today,” said Paige, plopping herself down by their tree on the edge of the playground.  It had always been their tree since…well, since longer than Lenore could remember.

“What makes you think that?” asked Lenore, idly braiding her chestnut hair into two plaits.

“Well, she came in to class today with Madam Mayor and they were asking Miss Blanchard about Henry.  I kind of stayed behind to listen, and get this: Henry stole Miss Blanchard’s credit card to find her!”

“He stole a teacher’s credit card?  I’m sure my Papa would have helped him if he’d asked.”

Paige rolled her eyes.  “You seem to think your papa runs around helping people, Len.  I’ve told you a million times, people are afraid of him.”

Lenore huffed and flipped her messy braids over her shoulders.  “He’s just misunderstood.  He’s really a big old softie at heart.”

Paige laughed.  “Yeah, and I’m the Queen of Hearts.”

Lenore grinned.  “Nah, I _know_ you’re too nice for that.”  She glanced around to see if they were alone.  “We really should make sure Henry is okay,” she said, her voice low.

“He’s probably at the castle right now,” said Paige.  The girls looked at each other, stormy blue meeting loamy earth.  “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

“I’m thinking my Papa’s going to kill me for this, so probably not.”  Paige giggled.  “Hey, you’re lucky your parents are so laid back.  Is anyone watching?”

Paige glanced around.  “Nope, we’re clear.”  The girls silently made their way to the bushes lining the fence and ducked behind them, finding the familiar child-sized hole in the chain link and passing their bags through.  With one last glance to make sure no one was watching, they crawled through as well.

“We’re getting too big for this,” said Lenore, dusting her skirt off as she stood up.

Paige snorted.  “Speak for yourself, Thumbelina.”

 

_Little Lenore Ariel Gold was only six months old when Tabitha left, disappearing from her daughter’s life forever.  Tobias knew that Tabitha had been unhappy and that she had not bonded with their daughter the way that he had (she had him wrapped around her tiny little finger and he was not ashamed to admit it), but he had no idea how long or how seriously she had been planning her departure until a week after she had left.  He stepped out onto the front porch one morning and found a packet containing divorce papers with Tabitha’s elegant signature already on them lying underneath the daily paper.  Had she not already left, he would have lectured her about how one did not simply leave important documents lying out for anyone to come and take, but she was gone and there was nothing he could do about it._

Paige and Lenore ran all the way through town, down to the ocean where the castle lay, sitting just ahead of the shore line.  As they approached, they finally slowed down to a walk.  There was Henry, storybook and all, sitting on the castle with his brown hair blowing in the faint ocean breeze.  Sitting beside him was a blonde woman whom Lenore had never seen before.  She was wearing a red leather jacket and leaned close to Henry, intent on her conversation with the boy. 

“That’s the woman who showed up in the classroom today,” Paige whispered to her.

Lenore had had enough.  Never one for inaction or cowardice, she called out, “Henry!” and walked the last few steps to stand near his dangling feet.  “We were worried!  Where have you been?”

Henry looked down at her, smiling.  “Sorry, Len,” he said.  “I was in Boston.”

“What were you doing in Boston, Henry Daniel Mills?” she said, her blue-grey eyes narrowed and her hands on her hips.  “We were all worried sick about you!”

“Is this her, then?” Paige asked, stepping up to join her brunette companion and eyeing the blue-eyed woman suspiciously.  “Is she the reason you were in Boston?”

“Yeah, this is Emma,” he said, smiling at the woman.  “She’s my birth mom.”

“Well, it’s nice to meet you, Miss Emma,” said Lenore, climbing up the play castle to join them.  “I’m Lenore.”

“And I’m Paige,” the blonde girl added, ignoring the ladder and climbing the sides of the wooden structure like a monkey.

“I was under the impression that Henry didn’t have any friends,” said Emma as Lenore plopped down beside her and Paige sat gracefully on Henry’s other side.

“You’re been talking to Regina, haven’t you?” said Lenore.

“Well, yeah…”

“Madam Mayor doesn’t like me,” said Paige, slinging her arm around Henry’s shoulders.  “She thinks my parents have corrupted me with their ‘immoral, hippie ways’ and that I’m a bad influence on her precious son.”

“And she usually prefers to pretend I simply don’t exist,” said Lenore, smiling at Henry.  “She doesn’t think it’s natural that a thirteen-year-old girl would want to hang around a couple of ten-year-olds.”  She shrugged.  “I say, what are a few years between friends?  Age is just a number, after all.”

“My mom likes to look for the worst in people,” said Henry.

“And so she pretends you don’t have any friends?” asked Emma, raising a delicate eyebrow.  “That really doesn’t make much sense, kid.”

The boy shrugged.  “I never said it did.”

_It had been two months since Tabitha’s departure (taking with her a piece of Tobias’ heart, all of his respect for her as a human being, and a sizable chunk of his personal fortune) and Tobias was already beyond sick of the empty condolences and not-so-subtle looks of pity sent his way by his so-called friends and colleagues.  In a spur of the moment decision, he decided to move back to his childhood home in Maine with little Lenore.  The small town would be the perfect place to raise his precious daughter and the inhabitants were all too scared of him and his family name (thank the Lord he’d had the sense to keep anything connected to his family’s fortune far away from Tabitha) that they’d never dare to bother him or his precious little princess._

_As Tobias drove across the town line, he glanced back at the wide eyed infant in the rear-view mirror.  The tiny brunette was taking in the change of scenery through the windows as she contentedly sucked on her thumb.  He smiled a rare, but genuine, smile full of love and affection as he snuck another glance at the blue-eyed baby that was his whole world._

_“Welcome to Storybrooke, Lenore Ariel.”_

Lenore liked to tag along with her Papa when he collected rent.  Although most everyone in Storybrooke was frightened of the man, they all adored his daughter.  She followed behind her father every rent day with the loyalty and enthusiasm of a small puppy.  No one could resist her charms, especially not her Papa.  Most everyone always had a smile for her and some of the older ladies liked to ply her with cookies or candy.  Her absolute favorite place to visit on rent day, however, was Granny’s.  Inn or Diner didn’t matter because Granny had taken a shine to the small-for-her-age teenage girl and would always have some sort of treat and a kind word for her.  Granny’s treats were the best; homemade cookies, pies, cakes, brownies, candies…and her fudge, which was nothing short of heavenly.

When they arrived at Granny’s Bed and Breakfast, Lenore was surprised at how quiet it was.  Nearly every time they stopped by, Granny and Ruby were going at it like cats and dogs.  This time there was nothing; not even quiet seventeen-year-old Tori Lucas, who liked to read her thick, leather-bound novels curled up in an armchair front of the fireplace in the small lobby of the inn.  Instead, as Lenore and her father approached the small room that held the little-used check-in counter, she saw a vaguely familiar woman with long blonde hair talking with Granny.

“Now, what’s the name?” Granny asked the woman.

“Swan.  Emma Swan.”

“What a lovely name,” said Lenore’s Papa, coming up behind Emma.  A strange… _something_ …passed through his eyes, but it was gone so quickly that Lenore let it be.

“It’s all here,” said Granny gruffly, handing Lenore’s Papa a folded wad of cash.

“Of course it is dear,” he said.  “Enjoy your stay in Storybrooke, Miss Swan,” he added.  “Lenore?”

“I’ll be along in a minute,” she said, looking imploringly at Granny.

As always, her sweet face and innocent puppy eyes melted Granny’s gruff exterior (she was really a big softie at heart).  “I just finished making a batch of double chocolate chunk cookies,” she told Lenore.  “I’m sure Ruby won’t mind taking you to get some.”

Lenore turned her puppy eyes on the older girl whose dark brown hair held a multitude of bright red streaks.  “C’mon kid,” she said with a mischievous grin.  “I know where Granny hides the good stuff.”

Ruby led Lenore into the small kitchen of the inn, located just off of the back room used to store records and files.  From there, she could still hear everything Emma and Granny said to each other.  Lenore sat down on a wicker bar stool at the kitchen’s island while Ruby pulled out a basket full of Granny’s cookies.  As the two girls sat down together and had their treat, they listened in (dropped their eves, as it were) on the ongoing conversation.

“Who were they?” asked Emma.

“That was Mr. Gold and his daughter.  He owns this place.”

“The inn?” asked Emma.

“No, the town,” said Granny.  “Welcome to Storybrooke.”

__

_Aslan gave her a gift as she hugged him goodbye.  She breathed in his scent as he whispered in her ear words that would change her fate forever.  She felt a warm tingling sensation spread through her from top to toe as his sweet breath tickled her ear.  They drew apart, Lion and his truest believer, and as they parted their eyes locked.  His amber eyes were so very old and sad, so full of wisdom and mystery.  In that moment when their eyes locked, honeyed amber on stormy blue, as His gift settled within her, she saw a thousand different, fleeting possibilities.  A noble ship on a treacherous sea; a fiery inferno and a mournful whistle; a battle axe dripping with blood in the midst of a field of carnage; a lonely imp with ageless eyes, a dark heart, and a sad secret._

_“Thank you, Aslan,” Lucy whispered, “but how shall I know what to follow?”_

_“Be the Valiant Queen I know you to be, my Lioness, and you shall know.”_

_Lucy nodded and joined her siblings in front of the door in the air that Aslan had created to take them back to their world.  She grabbed Peter and Edmund’s hands tight in her own as Susan said her own goodbyes to Caspian, the new King of Narnia.  The Royal Four were to go through Aslan’s door first, thereby setting an example for the Telmarines who wanted to follow.  Susan joined hands with Peter and the Pevensie siblings stepped through the door together._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave comments & kudos! (No flames, please)


	2. I'm Wishing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meet John-Jacob Blanchard.

** Chapter Two: I’m Wishing **

 

Emma had been sleeping in her yellow bug for a couple of nights, ever since Granny had been forced to kick her out of the inn (some stupid, obscure law that prevented her from renting a room to anyone with a criminal record).  Mary-Margaret had caught her and had offered her a place to stay, but Emma was reluctant to accept the offer.  Her experience being shunted from foster home to foster home growing up had made her jaded and stubbornly independent and thus reluctant to accept help from anyone, even a potential friend.

Then the fiasco at the hospital with John Doe (whose real name turned out to be David Nolan) happened, all because Henry insisted that Mary-Margaret should read him the story of Prince Charming and Snow White from his storybook.  She had seen the look of devastation that crossed the raven-haired schoolteacher’s face when Regina brought in David Nolan’s wife and for some reason that affected her more than she thought it should.  The truth was that Emma had never really had any friends before, but with Mary-Margaret there was the potential for something great.  As she watched Mary-Margaret watching the reunion between Kathryn Nolan and her amnesiatic husband with a look of devastated longing in her eyes, something twisted deep in her gut and she found herself wanting to do _something_ to help the kind, gentle woman.  She wasn’t one for physical or emotional displays; Emma was one who lived by the philosophy that actions speak louder than words.  It came suddenly to her, hitting her like a freight train: she knew how she could help Mary-Margaret.

 

_Mary-Margaret Blanchard was almost thirteen when her baby brother was born on a cool evening in late September.  Little John-Jacob had not been planned, but he was most certainly well-loved.  Their parents loved their little boy and Mary-Margaret adored her little brother.  He was a small baby right from the start and he shared her pale complexion and raven hair, but where she had their mother’s lovely green eyes, John-Jacob had inherited their father’s dark, deep brown eyes._

_Life was wonderful for the Blanchard family of Storybrooke, Maine.  Mary-Margaret was a model student who volunteered at the hospital and the convent as much as her young age would allow (which, in a small town like Storybrooke, was a great deal more than it would have been anywhere else).  John-Jacob (people usually shortened his name to Jake) grew quickly from an adorable infant to an inquisitive toddler to an active and imaginative little boy.  Through it all, his favorite person in the whole world (much to his parents’ chagrin) was his big sister._

 

“Is that room still available?” Emma asked Mary-Margaret. 

The raven haired woman stared blankly at the blonde standing in her doorway for a moment then smiled.  “Of course,” she said.  She held the door open and Emma took that as an invitation to come in.

“Nice place,” said Emma, looking around the spacious apartment.

“Thanks,” said Mary-Margaret.  “Do you want to see your room?”

“Sure.”

Mary-Margaret led Emma up the stairs.  “My room’s downstairs,” she told the blonde.  “There are two rooms upstairs.  This one’s yours,” she added, pointing to the door on the left side of the hallway.

“What’s the other one for?” asked Emma, noticing the Hulk poster on the door.

“Oh, that’s Jake’s room,” said Mary-Margaret casually.

“Jake?  Who’s he?”

“He’s my little brother.”

“You never mentioned you had a little brother.  Or that he was living with you.”

Mary-Margaret guiltily lowered her eyes.  “I know,” she said.  “I’m sorry.  If you don’t want the room anymore, I’ll understand.”

Emma saw the sadness in her green eyes and her anger softened.  “I still want to stay,” she said.  “I was just surprised.”

“Oh good, I’m glad,” said Mary-Margaret, relieved.  “I really am sorry I didn’t mention him sooner, but we’re kind of a package deal.”

“So can I ask why you have your kid brother living with you?”

“It’s not really something we like to talk about,” admitted Mary-Margaret.  “It’s sort of a painful topic for both of us.”

_Everything changed when Jake was six.  Mary-Margaret, who was almost nineteen, was away at Boston College when it happened.  She was woken late one night in October from an exhausted post-study stupor by a phone call.  She almost hadn’t answered it because she had been up all night and had only just fallen asleep some thirty minutes earlier, and when she did, she wished that she hadn’t._

_It was the Storybrooke Sheriff calling to inform her that her family had been in a car accident near the town border.  Her parents and the driver of the second car had been killed on impact, but Jake—little Jake, the light of her life—was alive and had been rushed to the hospital in serious condition.  After she hung up, Mary-Margaret rushed to grab her purse and car keys, not even bothering to change out her pajamas and barely remembering to pull on a pair of sneakers and a worn sweater (that had once belonged to her father) as she rushed out the door._

_She booked it all the way to Storybrooke, breaking several speed limits along the way, and made it to the hospital in record time.  When she finally arrived, Jake had just come out of the OR and was in stable condition, recovering in a private room.  Mary-Margaret thanked God for small favors and refused to leave her sleeping brother’s bedside for any longer than it took to use the restroom._

“Did you know that Mary-Margaret has a little brother?” Emma asked Henry as the two of them ate a late lunch together at Granny’s Diner.

“Everyone knows Jake,” said Henry, munching on his fries.  “He’s a sophomore in high school.  He’s really smart, but he’s also kind of a loner.  I think most people forget about him unless they’re actually talking to him...or standing right next to him.”

“Why didn’t anyone tell me?” she asked.

Henry shrugged.  “I guess no one thought to mention it.  Everyone knows Jake.”

“So you’ve said.”

Their conversation was interrupted by the arrival of Henry’s two closest friends.  “What are we talking about?” asked Paige, sliding into the seat next to Henry and snagging one of his fries.

“Hey! Get your own!” protested the brunette boy.

Lenore rolled her eyes as she slipped into the spot next to Emma.  “Like that ever works,” she said.

Paige shrugged.  “Pilfered fries are tastier,” she said.

“Then why do you always slap me when I try to take yours,” muttered Henry, resigned to his friend’s fry-stealing ways.

“Perks of being a girl,” said Paige, staring at him with a raised eyebrow as if daring him to question her logic.  “So, what are we talking about?”

“Jake,” said Henry, attempting to save his hot cocoa from Paige’s pilfering ways.  “You don’t even _like_ cinnamon in your cocoa, Paige,” he whined, pulling a face.  “Can’t you order your own?”

Paige smiled prettily at him.  “But you make such lovely faces when I take yours, Henry dear,” she said.

Lenore smiled at her two best friends.  She was sure Henry hadn’t realized it yet, but Paige had a bit of a crush on him and lived for moments like this.  “So why were you talking about Jake?” she asked Emma as Henry and Paige continued their bickering.

Emma looked at the petite brunette as if she didn’t quite know what to make of her.  “I just moved in with Mary-Margaret,” she said, “and I didn’t know she had a brother.”

“Ah,” said Lenore, smiling as Ruby brought her a cup of lavender vanilla tea (her flavor of the week) and a large snickerdoodle cookie.  “That would be reason enough to talk about him.”

Emma sized up the girl.  She was awfully small for a thirteen-year-old, but she looked happy and healthy.  She obviously didn’t suffer from being Gold’s daughter; Emma noticed that nearly every patron of Granny’s Diner had a wave, a smile, or a kind hello for the sunny, smiling girl.  “You seem to know everyone in this town,” Emma observed.

Lenore blushed.  “Papa owns the town, pretty much,” she admitted, “and I like to go with him when he collects rent.  He thinks it’s just because I like going around and saying hi to everyone, but I also worry about him.  People don’t usually like Papa too much; he’s not really what you’d call a people person, but he loves me.  But we’re not talking about me,” she said brightly, smiling at Emma in a mischievous way.  “You were looking for the dirt on your unexpected new flat mate.”

Emma gave Lenore a half smile.  “You caught me, kid,” she said.  “So what can you tell me about Jake Blanchard?”

_The next few weeks passed in a blur of black and tears for Mary-Margaret.  By the time things slowed down enough for her to process what was happening, her parents were buried, her brother had been released from the hospital, and she had officially been named his guardian.  She knew things would never be the same again, but she hadn’t expected the sudden change to Jake’s personality.  It seemed as if overnight he had changed from a happy, inquisitive boy to a quiet, sullen shadow of his former self._

Emma discreetly watched the pale, dark haired teenager as he sat at the dinner table eating a plateful of chicken pasta.  Unlike most teenage boys, Jake picked at his food, barely eating more than a few bites.  He was quiet throughout the meal, responding to his sister’s questions with a series of nods and shrugs.  Come to think of it, Emma was pretty sure she hadn’t once heard him speak.  However, his silence did give her the opportunity to study the strange boy.  At first glance, he looked like a male version of his sister; pale skinned and dark haired, but with dark eyes where Mary-Margaret’s were a gentle green.  A closer look revealed that his face, unlike his sister’s, was spattered with an abundance of freckles and his chin was slightly sharper than Mary-Margaret’s soft, rounded (familiar) one.  His eyes were fathomless; sharp and intelligent, he watched everything like a hawk with the same sort of regal grace that Mary-Margaret herself at times seemed to possess.  Emma could tell that, as much as she was observing him, he was observing _her_ as well.

“May I be excused?”  It was the first thing she’d heard him say and she was surprised to find that his voice was tinged with a British accent.

“Of course, Jake,” said Mary-Margaret.  “Do you need any help with your homework?”  There was something in her green eyes that was so hopeful it was heartbreaking.

“No thanks, Mags,” he said quietly.  He kept his eyes down as he cleared his plate and placed it in the dishwasher in the small kitchen.

“Okay, if you’re sure…”

“Yeah,” he said.  “I’m good.”

_As much as Mary-Margaret wanted to stay in town, she knew that she couldn’t if she wanted to have a career that would support not only herself, but her brother as well.  Her parents had not been wealthy, but they had been well-off enough to leave their children enough money to get their daughter through college while supporting a growing boy.  A month after her abrupt departure from Boston, Mary-Margaret was back—this time with her brother.  She got lucky and her teachers and advisor were all very understanding of her predicament and she was able to finish up the semester with the rest of her peers.  She’d given up her dorm in exchange for family housing and by the end of her first week back she had secured a part time job at the campus bookstore.  This enabled her to pay for daycare for Jake while she continued to attend her classes during the day._

Mary-Margaret and Emma sat at the kitchen island drinking hot cocoa with cinnamon after the dinner dishes had been cleaned up.  “So…” said Mary-Margaret when the silence got to be too much, “what do you think?”

Emma set her mug down.  “About your brother?”

                “Yeah.”  Mary-Margaret looked nervous as she spoke, her green eyes fixed on Emma.  “Are you regretting moving in?”

                “No,” said Emma, giving her new friend a reassuring smile.  “Jake seems…quiet.”  It wasn’t what she really wanted to say, but she couldn’t think of any other way to describe the teen.  “Maybe I’m just not used to kids,” she admitted.  “I mean, I’ve never really been around them much, besides Henry, but aren’t they usually…louder?”

                Mary-Margaret smiled sadly.  “Usually,” she said, “but Jake’s not exactly your typical teenager.  I mean, he’s a good kid, don’t get me wrong.  He’s smart, he gets good grades, he rarely gets into trouble, and he’s got a huge heart…he just doesn’t interact well with other people.”

                “Have you thought about sending him to therapy?” asked Emma tentatively, not sure if she was overstepping her bounds or not.  “Not that it’s any of my business,” she added hastily.

                “No,” said Mary-Margaret, “it’s a valid question.”  She sighed heavily and set her mug down on the white counter-top.  “The truth is, I’ve considered it many times, but Jake closes down even more than usual every time I bring it up.  I don’t want to alienate him, Emma,” she admitted.  “He’s the only family I have left.”

                “I think I’m beginning to understand that,” said Emma quietly. 

Mary-Margaret smiled and took Emma’s hand from across the table, squeezing it gently.  “Thank you for caring,” she said softly, her jade eyes filled with emotion.  Emma squeezed her hand back and the two women went back to their cocoa in comfortable silence.

_Four years later, Mary-Margaret finally had her degree and was licensed to teach elementary school.  Jake, who was now ten, had spent the last five years attending public school in Boston, but he had few enough friends that she didn’t feel bad about uprooting him and moving them back to Storybrooke.  Mary-Margaret glanced back at her brother, pale and still, sitting in the backseat reading a book of Grimm’s Fairy Tales, and smiled as they drove over the town line._

_“Welcome to Storybrooke, Jake.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: I decided to include a brief who's who in Storybrooke so far (those not on the show)- I'll include future additions in my notes for each chapter:
> 
> Lenore Gold (13), daughter of Mr. Gold: Lucy Pevensie
> 
> Mr. Bartholomew Peace, 8th Grade teacher: Prince Proteus (from DreamWorks Sinbad)
> 
> Victoria "Tori" Lucas (17), sister of Ruby: Susan Pevensie
> 
> John-Jacob "Jake" Blanchard (15), brother of Mary-Margaret: Edmund Pevensie
> 
> AN2: Reviews are the lifeblood of my Dragon muses. If you enjoy this story, please take a second to leave a comment or kudos. (No flames please!)


	3. I Know Things Now

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meet Victoria Lucas.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: A bit more swearing than I've yet had in this chapter, but it shouldn't be anything too bad.

** Chapter Three: I Know Things Now **

****

                “Tori, is your sister in for her shift yet?”

                Tori glanced over at her grandmother.  Granny was starting to get that look on her face that only Ruby could cause.  “I’ll just go check in back, Granny,” she said softly.  “I’m sure she’s just fixing her makeup.”  
                “She’d better be,” snapped Granny.  “You need to head out before you’re late for school, Tori.”

                “Alright, Granny,” she replied.  “I’ll just go let Ruby know I’m off.”  She untied her apron and hung it by the kitchen door, smiling at Tara, who was filling in for Tony as cook this morning.

                Tori headed into the laundry room, back past the restrooms.  Ashley, who worked as a maid for both the inn and the diner, smiled at her.  “Ruby’s out back,” she said, jerking her blonde head in the direction of the door.  “Ben stopped by this morning.”

                Tori smiled in thanks.  “Doesn’t he always,” she said.

                “Only on days that end in y,” joked the pregnant blonde.

                “Thanks, Ash,” said Tori.  “I’d better get Ruby in here before Granny has a conniption.”

                “Good luck,” said Ashley, sorting out a basket of dirty laundry on the counter.  “See you after school?”

                “Of course,” said Tori, smiling softly.  Ashley was her best friend, despite the two year age gap and they hung out as often as they could.  “Later Ash.”

                “Later Tor.”  Tori smiled once more and headed out the door.

                Tori stepped quietly into the alley behind the diner, leaning against the brick wall as she watched the oblivious couple make out like they needed to suck the oxygen from each other’s lungs to survive.  A smirk graced her pale face and her pink lips twitched in amusement at the familiar sight.  “You gonna come up for air anytime soon, sis?” she asked.

                The pair jumped apart, looking guilty for about half a second before Ruby groaned.  “Tori,” she said, exasperation evident in her voice, “can’t I have ten minutes alone with my boyfriend?”

                “Hi Tori,” said Ben.  The tall blonde man grinned sheepishly at her, his tanned face flushed pink.

                “Hey Ben,” said Tori grinning back at him.  “I’d love to chat, but I’m actually just here for Ruby.”  She turned her attention to her older sister, who was running her fingers through her red-streaked dark brown hair.  “Granny’s looking for you,” she said.

                Ruby groaned, her forehead falling to Ben’s strong chest.  “What does she want now?” she asked, resigned.

                “It’s time for your shift,” said Tori, pushing off the wall to stand straight.  “I’ve gotta head off to school before I’m late.  Please try not to kill each other while I’m gone,” she teased.  “I like you both too much to look for replacements.”

                Ruby huffed into Ben’s dark blue t-shirt and the man himself grinned brightly at the sisters.  “Get going, brat,” she said fondly.  “I’m sure we can hold off for a few hours.”

                “That’s all I ask,” said Tori.  “See you later, Ruby.  Pleasure as always, Ben.”

                “See you, Tori,” said Ben, waving to her as she headed off onto Main Street.

_Ruthie Lucas—known to all as the Widow Lucas or more affectionately as Granny—had never expected to raise any more children once her only daughter was grown and gone.  The trouble started when her granddaughter Ruby was two.  That was the year that her daughter Andrea ran off with her boyfriend, Ruby’s father Kevin.  Granny (who was still getting used to that particular name) was sure that she’d never see her daughter again, but she never held that against her precious granddaughter.  Ruby, with her dark chocolate curls and wide, inquisitive eyes, had her Granny wrapped around her little finger.  Granny didn’t mind though; that girl had quickly become her whole world._

Tori would never admit it to anyone (because everyone expected her to do _more_ with her life), but she actually loved working at Granny’s.  She might not be as vivacious or outgoing as her sister, but she _got_ people.  She knew the value of a few well-meaning words or a simple hand to the shoulder.  Simple and quiet were her ways and she wouldn’t want to be anything else.

Mama Orla and Ms. Morningstar were in this afternoon for coffee and pie.  Tori smiled indulgently as Tara’s mother and grandmother praised her as she refilled their mugs.  She laughed at Mr. McGowan and Mr. MacMillan’s tall tale of the day and smiled indulgently at the constantly bickering pair of Dr. Pietrovitch and his closest friend, Mr. Donaldson.  Today the corner booth held the unlikely (but widely amusing) quartet of friends that was Dr. Brown (the surgeon), Monsieur Terra (the landscape architect), Mr. DiMarco (the demolitions expert), and Claudia Montoya (the eighteen-year-old mechanic prodigy).  As always, she received a chorus of warm (if a bit crude) greetings from them as she took their orders.

Her afternoon has been going well so far (Mr. McGowan and Mr. MacMillan tipped especially well for listening to their stories) and when things went well, she knew that badness was soon to follow (it was the story of her life, really).  Tori really should have been expecting it when she saw them sit down in her section; those MacIntire triplets were a menace, despite their stern mother’s attempts to corral them.  One minute she was carrying a tray with three plates of spaghetti and one of chicken parmesan, the next…she was wearing all of it.

“I’m so sorry, Victoria,” cried Fiona MacIntire, her pale cheeks pink and her Scottish brogue thicker than usual as she attempted to catch the three identical giggling redheaded boys running around and between Tori’s legs.

Tori sighed to herself and smiled at the flustered raven-haired woman.  “It’s all right, Mrs. MacIntire,” she said.  “I’ll get Ruby over here to clean it up and I’ll get Tony to fix up new plates for you.”  Quickly telling her sister what had happened, Tori went into the back and pulled out a spare red-trimmed white uniform dress from the cupboard.  She slipped into the restroom to change and bundled up the dirty uniform and apron. 

 

The laundry room was already occupied when the brunette teen got back there.  Ashley looked up from pulling clothes out of the dryer as Tori entered the small room.  “The Lloyd kids?” she asked sympathetically, seeing the red-stained white clothes in her arms.

“The MacIntire boys,” groaned Tori, dumping stain remover on the clothes and scrubbing it in.  “Those boys are a public menace, I swear.”

Ashley hummed in agreement and began to fold the clothes she had just pulled out.  “They are cute, though,” she said softly.  “Maybe it’s not so bad if there’s just the one?”

Tori squeezed Ashley’s shoulder and she threw the soiled clothes into the washer with soap and turned it on.  “Are you having second thoughts, Ash?” she asked.

“It doesn’t matter,” said Ashley, brushing the tears off her cheeks.  “I couldn’t get out of a contract with Mr. Gold even if I wanted to.  No one breaks a deal with Mr. Gold.”

“But if you could?” asked Tori.

Ashley stared down at the white t-shirt in her hands.  “I think I could be a good mom,” she said quietly.  “If I wasn’t such a screw-up…”

“You’re not a screw-up,” insisted Tori.  “You made a mistake, but so did Sean.  Don’t let his dad keep pinning this all on you.  You are a wonderful person, Ashley Boyd, and I think any kid would be lucky to have you as her mom.”

_Ruby was almost six when Andrea reappeared one day, pregnant and looking ready to pop.  Granny was wary (rightfully so, as Andrea had already abandoned one child), but she couldn’t find it in her heart to tell her only child no when she asked for a place to stay.  So Andrea wound up staying with Granny and Ruby in the comfortable family suite they shared at Granny’s Inn.  Granny noticed the gleam in her daughter’s eyes right from the start, a gleam like a wolf trapped in a cage, and she knew that Andrea would not stay long once this child was born._

Tori groaned as her phone blared Colbie Caillat’s “Brighter Than the Sun.”  She rolled over onto her side and picked up the offending object, squinting to read the time and caller ID before answering.  “Ash, it’s two in the bloody morning,” she moaned, her English accent (that no one could really explain) thick from exhaustion.  “This had better be important.”

On the other end Ashley sounded teary and panicked.  “I did something really stupid, Tor,” she said.

Tori blinked lethargically and stared at the glaring red numbers on her alarm clock.  “ _Ashley_ ,” she said, “it’s two in the bloody morning.  If you need help hiding the body, you’ll have to wait til I’m more awake.”  Ashley let out a strangled sob and Tori suddenly felt a lot more awake (it helped that she jerked up and knocked her head against the wooden headboard of her bed).  “Shit, Ash,” she said, “I was just kidding.  What happened?”

“I tased Mr. Gold,” sobbed Ashley.

Tori bolted upright (banging her head again) and began panicking.  “What the hell, Ashley?” she hissed.  “Are you _trying_ to get yourself killed?  _No one_ messes with Mr. Gold.  People who mess with Mr. Gold or Lenore have a tendency to disappear, you know that!”

“I know!” cried Ashley desperately.  “I didn’t mean to—I wasn’t _thinking_ —”

Tori snorted.  “That’s obvious.”  Ashley let out a pained whine and Tori closed her eyes and took a deep breath.  “Okay, Ash, let’s just take a step back.  What _happened_ exactly?”

“I broke into Mr. Gold’s shop to take back my contract,” explained Ashley.  “I didn’t expect _him_ to be there and I guess I just panicked.”

“Ashley, I know you’ve been having second thoughts about giving up the baby, but why would you go do something stupid like that?”

“I was taking my life back into my own hands, like Emma said I should.”

“Emma?” said Tori, brow furrowing in confusion.  “Who the hell is Emma?”

“Henry’s birth mom,” said Ashley.  “She told me that she was just a little younger than me when she had him and gave him up to give him his best chance.  I think—I _know_ I’m my baby’s best chance.  I can _do_ this, Tori.  I _know_ I can.”

Tori sighed.  “You know this isn’t gonna be easy, Ash,” she said.  “And I’m not just talking about the baby.  This thing with Mr. Gold isn’t just going to magically disappear.  The man can hold a grudge like nobody’s business.”  She took a deep breath and closed her eyes.  “Where are you right now, Ash?”

“I-I snuck into the Academy playground,” she admitted.  “I know it’s stupid, but…”

“Don’t worry about it, Ash,” said Tori, flinging off her blue flowered covers and getting out of bed.  “Just stay there, okay?  I’ll be there in ten minutes.  We’ll figure this out, Ash, I promise.”

_Granny had never hated Andrea, but she began to think that she could.  Andrea had only been in town two weeks and already Ruby was following her around like a little lost puppy.  Granny knew that Ruby would be heartbroken when her mother disappeared again after the baby was born, but she could not bear to be the one to take away that spark of joy that was ever-present in Ruby’s innocent jade green eyes.  So Granny did her best to keep Ruby’s hopes alive, all the while keeping a sharp eye on her daughter, whose restlessness only grew as she drew closer and closer to her due date._

                Tori thought she’d succeeded in sneaking Ashley into the apartment she shared with Granny and Ruby right up until the light flipped on in the living room.  “What’s going on, Tori?” asked Ruby, lounging casually against the hall wall, dressed in a pair of red and black plaid pajama pants and a cropped black tank printed with a wolf howling at the moon.  “It’s not like you to break curfew.  That’s my shtick, remember?”  She gave her sister a predatory grin.  “Good on you, sis.”

                “It’s not like that, Ruby,” said Tori, gently tugging Ashley from behind her.  “Ashley’s in trouble; she needs our help.”

                Ruby’s grin turned to worry.  “What’s wrong?” she asked the blonde teen.  “What happened?”

                While Ashley filled Ruby in, Tori padded softly into the kitchen in socked feet where she put together a turkey and cheddar sandwich for the pregnant girl.  She poured a tall glass of milk and dug out the last two double chocolate chunk cookies from the cookie jar before heading back out to the living room.  Ashley was just finishing up her tale, seated on the couch with Ruby, the outgoing brunette unusually quiet as she held their friend’s delicate hand in a show of comfort.  Tori silently handed their friend the snack she’d put together before perching on the arm of her own royal blue armchair.

                Ruby looked up at her sister as Ashley dug into the food, her jade eyes boring into Tori’s soul.  “So, were you planning on asking for help or were you just gonna keep digging a deeper hole, Tor?” she asked, sounding part amused part exasperated.

                Tori shrugged.  “I hadn’t really thought that part through yet,” she admitted.  “This just seemed like the right thing to do.”

                Ruby gave her a crooked smile.  “You are _such_ a goody-two-shoes,” she said fondly.  “Tell you what, you girls head off to bed and I’ll have everything all figured out by morning, m’kay?”

                Tori squealed as quietly as she could and launched herself at Ruby, squeezing her tight in a hug.  “Thanks, Rubes, you’re the best!”

                Ruby chuckled.  “I know, kiddo,” she said.

                “No really, _thank you_ ,” said Ashley, her eyes red from crying, “ _both_ of you.”

                The sisters glanced at each other and shrugged in unison.  “What are friends for?” said Tori.

                “We’re not gonna abandon you, Ash,” added Ruby.  “You’re gonna show the world what a great mom you can be.”

                “Thanks,” said Ashley, attempting to smile.  “You guys are the best.”  
                “Yeah, we kinda rock,” said Ruby, smiling brightly.  “Now you two kids get to bed before Granny decides to come out and see what all the racket’s about.”

_Too soon (and yet not soon enough) the big day arrived.  It was not cries for help or pleas to be taken to the hospital that alerted Granny of the impending birth of her second grandchild, but rather a strange phone conversation she happened to overhear between Andrea and what sounded like Ruby’s (and the baby’s) father, Kevin Capp, in which Andrea promised to meet up with him as soon as the doctors released her.  Granny had no doubts she was serious about that.  Not bothering with pretenses or social niceties, she dragged her ungrateful daughter down to the hospital, thankful that it was still early June and thus school was still in session.  At least Ruby didn’t have to witness her mother’s behavior._

Tori smiled and waved at Billy, who was stopping by to check on Ruby’s car, as she stepped inside the diner after school.  Inside, Ruby was standing by the counter, having an intense conversation with an unfamiliar blonde woman wearing a red leather jacket.  Ruby glanced up at the sound of the bell and gave Tori a quick smile.  Tori unwrapped her bronze and blue striped scarf from her neck and removed her matching blue beret.  “Everything okay, sis?” she asked, sidling up to her sister, her blue eyes bright with worry.

The blonde woman looked at Tori, her face unreadable.  “It’s all good, Tori,” said Ruby.  “Emma here was just asking about Ashley.”

“Oh?” said Tori, raising her eyebrow and keeping her face blank.  “Is she okay?”

Emma fixed her icy, green gaze on Tori.  “She’s missing, actually,” she said.  “You wouldn’t know anything about that, would you?”

“Ash is missing?” said Tori, feigning surprise.  “She seemed fine when we talked after school yesterday.  Did something happen last night?”

“She’s in trouble with Mr. Gold, Tori,” said Ruby, giving her sister a meaningful look that let her know that her plan had already been set in motion.  “Emma says she wants to help her.”

Tori hummed thoughtfully.  “Have you talked to her ex yet?  His name’s Sean Herman; he might know where she’s gone.”

Emma gave her a scrutinizing look.  “That’s what Ruby said,” she admitted.

Tori smiled.  “Well, we _are_ sisters Miss…?”

“Swan.  Emma Swan.”

“Lovely,” said Tori, looking the woman up and down to asses her.  “I’m Victoria Lucas, Ruby’s sister.  Now, if that’s all, I’m due to start my shift soon.  Do let me know if you find Ashley; she’s my dear friend and I do worry so.”

“Of course,” said Emma.  Tori could feel the blonde’s eyes following her until she disappeared into the kitchen, out of sight.

_Andrea’s second labor was much longer and harder than Granny recalled her first having been.  Six hours it took before her second granddaughter came into the world.  Personally, Granny thought it fitting penance for a woman who had abandoned her children not just once, but twice.  Once the child was out, Andrea refused to even hold her and gladly signed away her rights for both daughters to her mother.  She didn’t even bother to name the tiny girl child with a garden of chocolate brown hair.  As Granny stared down in wonder at the tiny new life in her arms, she knew she would love this little girl just as much as she did Ruby._

_“Welcome to Storybrooke, Victoria Ann Lucas.”_

                Tori knocked softly on the open frame of the hospital room door.  Ashley looked up from the small pink-wrapped bundle in her arms to smile at her friend.  “Come in, Tori,” she said.  “I’m glad you finally made it.”

                “Sorry I couldn’t get here sooner,” she said, sitting down in the empty plastic chair beside the bed.  “She’s beautiful,” she murmured, staring at the sleeping baby.

                “Would you like to hold her?” asked the new mother.

                Tori smiled brightly.  “Of course,” she said.

                Ashley passed the baby over gently.  “Mind her head,” she said.

                “Oh Ash, she’s perfect,” breathed Tori.  Somehow this felt natural— _right_ —to her, even though she couldn’t remember ever holding a baby this small before.  “What’s her name?”

                Ashley smiled.  “Alexandra Victoria Herman,” she said.  “Sean and I are back together.”

                Tori looked at her friend in wonder, the announcement of her friend’s new relationship status completely ignored.  “You named her after me?”

                “You’re my best friend, Tori, and you helped me out a lot with this whole Mr. Gold thing.”  She paused, continuing, “Sean and I want you to be her godmother, if you’ll accept?”

                Tori smiled brightly.  “I’d be honored, Ashley.  Of course I’ll do it.”

                “Good, ‘cause I wasn’t gonna take no for an answer,” teased Ashley.

                “Of course not,” said Tori, rolling her eyes.  “Hello little princess,” she said, focusing on the tiny blonde baby in her arms.  “I’m your Aunt Tori.  Welcome to Storybrooke, Lexie Herman.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New Storybrookers for this chapter:
> 
> Tara Morningstar (21), waitress & apprentice cook at Granny's: Princess Tiana
> 
> Benjamin "Ben" Kingsley (19), orphan, dock worker, & Ruby's boyfriend: Peter Pevensie
> 
> Mama Orla Morningstar, retired 4th grade teacher: Mama Odie
> 
> Evelyn Newell Morningstar, seamstress: Eudora, Tiana's mom
> 
> Ewan McGowan, fisherman: Chief Stoick the Vast
> 
> Craig MacMillan, metalworker: Gobber the Belch
> 
> Dr. Ivan Pietrovitch, pediatrician: Dr. Jumba Jookiba
> 
> Taylor Donaldson, owns clothing boutique: Agent Wendy Pleakley
> 
> Dr. Rory Brown, surgeon: Dr. Joshua Sweet
> 
> Louis Terra, landscape architect: Gaetan Moliere "Mole"
> 
> Orlando DiMarco, demolitions expert: Vincenzo "Vinny" Santorini
> 
> Claudia Montoya (18), mechanic: Audrey Ramirez
> 
> Fiona MacIntire, stay at home mom: Queen Elinor of DunBroch
> 
> Connor, Corey, & Cooper MacIntire (5): Princes Hubert, Harris, & Hamish of DunBroch
> 
> Lloyd Kids- Mila (6), Wyatt (4), & Shawn (5 mo.): Chacha, Tipo, & Yupi (Emperor's New Groove)
> 
> Once again, comments & kudos are deeply appreciated, but no flames please!


	4. I Once Was Lost

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meet Paige Francis.

** Chapter Four: I Once Was Lost **

****

_Gypsy Emerald-Francis met her husband while she was attending Julliard on a dance scholarship.  She volunteered twice a week at a small free clinic a few miles away from campus, mostly working with children.  When Gypsy first met Montgomery Francis, he was a patient coming back in for follow up treatment after a major surgery.  When she started to run into him almost every single time she volunteered, she began to suspect he was there for more than just check-ups.  It took twelve tries and a rather embarrassing attempt at serenading her before Gypsy finally relented and let Montgomery take her out on a date._

It had taken a while, but Henry, Paige, and Lenore had finally coordinated their schedules so that they could meet up during their lunch hour.  “Are you gonna tell us more about your curse theory?” asked Paige, knocking shoulders with the boy as they sat together on the top of his castle, Lenore on his other side.

“Yup,” said Henry.  “Who do you wanna hear about first?”

“Have you figured out who my Papa is yet?” asked Lenore curiously.

“Sorry, no,” said Henry.  “I haven’t figured either of you out either,” he admitted.  “I thought you were Alice for a while Paige—like Alice in Wonderland…but that didn’t pan out.”

“That’s okay,” said Paige with a casual shrug.  “I don’t much feel like an Alice anyway.  What about Sensei Hu?”

Henry grinned and flipped the book open to a picture of an Asian soldier in a red cape fighting back-to-back with a smaller, masked soldier.  “Captain Li Shang of the Xiang Imperial Army,” said Henry.  “Commanding officer, best friend, and supposed lover of the infamous Fa Mulan who—”

“—dressed as a man to take her father’s place in battle,” said Paige, fascinated.  “Captain Shang is my martial arts instructor!  That is so cool!”

“What about that cute senior?” asked Lenore.  At Paige’s quizzical look, she elaborated, “Black hair, dreamy brown eyes, he’s dating that total princess…Asia Green, I think.”

“Brad Pritchard, the track-and-field jock?” said Henry.

“Yes!” exclaimed Lenore, gesturing wildly.  “That’s the one.  Who is he?”

Henry flipped the book over to a picture of a teenage Arabian couple sitting on a purple flying carpet.  “Princess Jasmine of Agrabah and her thief, Aladdin,” he said.  “She turned down every suitor her father threw at her until the mysterious Prince Ali showed up.  Turned out, Ali was really Aladdin.”

Lenore traced the familiar features of the Arabian girl.  “So Asia really _is_ a princess,” she said wistfully.  “That must be nice.”

Paige snorted.  “You’re practically a princess already, Len,” she said.  “You just need the title and crown to make it official.”

_All it took was one and she was his.  One date quickly escalated to date nights once a week which then grew to the young couple spending nearly every minute of their spare time together.  Gypsy had never been so head over heels in love before.  She was sure that he was The One.  He didn’t even flinch when she started calling him Gomez (Montgomery was too much of a mouthful).  Instead, he went right along and started calling her Tish without missing a beat (Because, he told her, what’s a Gomez without his Tish?).  Gomez was a veteran soldier returned from Iraq after being stabbed in the side in a rather unfortunate (and highly classified) mission.  Apparently his continued presence at the clinic was not just so that he could see her.  She soon learned that he was putting himself through nursing school so that he could help others the way that he had been helped._

                Paige was walking to The Emerald Dragon—the dance/martial arts studio that her mom co-owned with Sensei Hu—when the whole town suddenly began to shake as if an earthquake had hit.  She quickened her pace, gracefully avoiding overturned trashcans and broken branches along Main Street, and arrived at the studio in record time.

                “Mom!” she called out.  “Did you feel that?”

                “I think the whole _town_ felt it, Paige,” said Gypsy Emerald-Francis dryly, stepping out of Studio 1 into the lobby.  Her emerald eyes were filled with concern as she looked her daughter over.  “Are you alright?”

                Paige rolled her dark eyes in fond exasperation.  “I’m fine, Mom,” she said.  “Is Zane here today?”

                “Yeah, he’s taken over Studio 3,” she said fondly.  “I told him if he stays out of trouble for the rest of the week, he can sit in on Sensei Hu’s advanced class next week.”

                “That’s some incentive,” said Paige, stashing her purple backpack into her cubby.

                “It seems to be working,” said Gypsy with a shrug.

                Paige pulled her black leotard, nude tights, and pink ballet slippers out of her bag.  “Can I warm up in Studio 1 with you today?” she asked.

                “Sure, Paige-Pie,” said Gypsy, pulling her wild raven curls into a messy bun.  “Want me to do your hair for you?”

                “Sure, Mom.  I’ll just be a minute.”

_That was the night she first gave herself to a man, body and soul.  The couple was deeply in love even though they had been going out less than a year.  Marriage had never even crossed their minds as more than a fleeting thought of someday; despite their utter adoration for each other, Gypsy was only just nineteen and Gomez was twenty-four.  Everything soon changed, though, when Gypsy uncovered a rather startling piece of information a few months later: she was pregnant.  Nineteen and pregnant should have scared her more than it did, but she was so sure that Gomez was The One that it simply didn’t._

Class had barely begun when a loud commotion out on Main Street caused an interruption.  “Oh for the love of—Carmen!” Gypsy called out to her secretary.  “What’s going on out there?”

Carmen poked her head through the studio door, her blonde streaked chestnut hair a frizzled mess.  “Sarah just called; the old mines just outside of town collapsed,” she said, her Spanish accent thick as honey.

“Was anyone hurt?” asked Gypsy, concerned.

Carmen glanced over at Paige nervously.  “Henry Mills was down there,” she said.

Paige looked stricken.  “Mom—”

“Go, Paige,” said Gypsy, and understanding smile on her ruby lips.  “Some things are more important than dance class.”

_It didn’t scare Gomez either (except for the fleeting thought of what her father might do when he found out that his baby girl was pregnant—not that he’d yet met the man).  He offered to marry her then and there, but Gypsy wanted to wait until after their baby was born so that no one would think they were marrying for anything other than true love.  Gomez began to taking on odd, menial jobs to help save up money for the baby while he finished his medical training._

Paige arrived at the mines just as Pongo started barking.  She ducked around the firetruck and Sheriff Graham’s police car until she saw Henry’s birth mom.  “Emma!” she called out.

                The blonde woman looked up.  “Paige,” she said, “you can’t be here; you have to get back.”

                “Is it true?” she asked, ignoring Emma’s instructions and watching as Marco worked with Mr. Flynn and Mr. Hannover, the daytime firemen, to lift a rusty, circular grate from the ground.  “Is Henry trapped down there?”

                “It’s true,” Emma said, something in her green eyes softening as she spoke.  “Henry’s down there…and Dr. Hopper is with him.”

                Paige let out a strangled sob.  Familiar arms suddenly encircled her.  “Shh…it’s alright Paige-Pie,” said her father, the familiar warmth of his strong arms keeping her safe.  “We’ve got the very best working together to get him out.  He’ll be just fine, you’ll see.”  Paige felt relief wash over her; if her Daddy said it would be alright, it _would_ be alright.  He’d never lie to her.  Her Daddy could fix _anything_.

_Gypsy, in all the excitement of their pregnancy, quite forgot what she was in New York for in the first place.  Their perfect life hit its first bump when Gypsy visited her academic advisor and calmly informed her of the situation.  Apparently Gypsy’s scholarship was very specific that in order to continue receiving the money she had to stay strict to her academic program; any extended time off would result in immediate withdrawal of the scholarship funds.  As a dancer, she knew that she would not be able to continue on once her pregnancy advanced.  In a hormonal snit, she yelled at her advisor and quit the program.  This left the couple in a bit of a bind as they had relied on that scholarship money to help pay for their housing._

This, Paige decided, was the longest day of her life.  She watched, safely ensconced in her father’s arms, as Emma was lowered down the old elevator shaft.  She held her breath as she heard sounds of screeching and crashing down below.  Then suddenly Emma emerged with Henry and Archie, both shaken but safe.  Paige had to fight the urge to rush forward and engulf her friend in a hug as Madam Mayor fussed over her son.

Finally she could see Henry as Mayor Mills led him over to her father.  “Nurse Francis,” she said with a slight sneer, “if you would check over my son, please.  He’s had a traumatic day and I’d like to be sure no lasting injury was done.”

“Of course, Madam Mayor,” said Montgomery (Gomez, as most people called him) Francis, leading Henry over to the firetruck to check him over.

Paige gave her father a minute before following him; a minute in which she watched Archie stand up to Madam Mayor (finally!).  Feeling oddly proud of Henry’s adult friend, she decided thanks were in order.  After Archie left Regina, Paige hurried over to him.  “Dr. Hopper!” she called.

He stopped and turned, brow furrowing when he saw her.  “Hello—how can I help you?” he asked.

“Hi, I know you don’t really know me, but Henry’s my best friend and—”

“You’re Paige,” he said, understanding dawning on his tired face.  “Henry talks about you often.”

“Really?” she said brightly.  “I, well, I just wanted to thank you for staying with Henry today and taking care of him.  Sometimes he gets so caught up in wanting to fix everything that he forgets to take care of himself.”

“You care about him,” said Archie, smiling.  “I’m glad to see that in his best friend.”

“He said—I’m his best friend?”

“He doesn’t have to; it’s obvious,” said Archie.

Paige glanced longingly over at Henry and her own father.  “Well, I really should go see him now,” she said.  “I just wanted you to know how much it means to me that Henry wasn’t alone today.”

“I’m glad I could help,” said Archie.  “Tell Henry I’ll see him tomorrow.”

“I will.  It was good to talk to you, Dr. Hopper.”

“You as well, Paige.”

_But Gypsy was not to be deterred by this bump in the road.  While Gomez finished up his nursing certification, she got a job as a waitress at a fancy French restaurant downtown.  The young couple struggled through the next eight months, but soon the end was in sight.  Early one morning in mid-April, Gypsy went into labor.  Gomez rushed her to the very clinic where they had first met and a mere hour and a half later, Paige Morticia Francis came into the world.  Gomez and Gypsy couldn’t have been happier._

Paige made it over just as her father finished patching up the last of Henry’s scrapes.  “I’ll leave you two be,” he said, his blue eyes twinkling mischievously.  “I’ve got to report in to El Jeffe.”

Paige giggled madly.  “See you Dad,” she called to his retreating back and he turned briefly to flash her a pearly white smile.

“You came,” said Henry softly, drawing Paige’s attention back to him.

Paige sat down beside him and squeezed his knee gently.  “As soon as I heard,” she said.

“You didn’t have to,” he said, his dark eyes suspiciously bright.

“Of course I did,” she scoffed.  “You’re my best friend.  Which reminds me…”  She punched him hard in the arm.

“Ow!  What was that for?” Henry whined, rubbing the now sore spot.

“Don’t _ever_ do something like that again,” she scolded him.  She suddenly engulfed him in a hug.  “You scared me half to death, Henry Daniel Mills,” she mumbled into his shoulder.

He stroked his hand through the loose waves of her blonde hair.  “I’m sorry,” he said.  “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

Paige sighed.  “I know.  What possessed you to go down there anyway?”

Henry shrugged and looked down, finding the ground suddenly interesting.  “I just wanted proof,” he said softly.

“Of the curse?”  He nodded sharply.  “Well, next time ask me or Len to help you; don’t go off by yourself when you could get hurt.  You know we’re with you, right?”

“Three Musketeers forever,” he said with a crooked smile.

“Darn straight.  Now pinkie promise you won’t go doing something that stupid alone again.”

Henry linked pinkies with Paige.  “Pinkie promise,” he said.

She nodded curtly.  “Good.” 

She was about to say something more when Gomez finally returned.  “Granny’s throwing a party at the diner for you and Dr. Hopper, Henry,” the blonde man said.  “Your mom said you could come, if you’d like.”

“Think there’ll be cake?” asked Paige.

Gomez stroked his blonde goatee thoughtfully.  “It’d be a pretty poor party without cake, now wouldn’t it?”

“Everybody likes cake,” said Henry softly.

“Whaddya say, sport?” said Gomez, crouching down so that he was eye level with the boy.  “You in?”

Henry shrugged.  “Sure.  Cakes sounds pretty great right now.”

Paige scoffed.  “Cake _always_ sounds pretty great, don’t lie.”

“Cake fixes everything,” said Henry, finally giving her a real smile.

“That’s what I like to hear,” said Paige, slinging an arm around his shoulders and hugging him.  Things were beginning to turn around.

_Three weeks later, Gomez finished his certification and the new parents decided to take their little bundle of joy and move back to Gypsy’s hometown.  Gypsy’s older brother Jude had told her months earlier that he could secure jobs for her and Gomez if they wanted to raise their baby away from the crush of the city.  After Paige’s birth, they realized that it was for the best; big city life no longer held the appeal that it once did now that they had their daughter to think about.  As the young family drove across the town line, Paige strapped securely in a netted baby carrier in the sidecar of Gypsy’s motorcycle (their only form of transportation), they knew that their greatest adventure yet was just beginning._

_“Welcome to Storybrooke, Paige Francis.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gypsy Emerald-Francis, Paige's mom, co-owns dance/martial arts studio, dance instructor, & waitress at the Rabbit Hole: Esmeralda the gypsy
> 
> Montgomery "Gomez" Francis, Paige's dad, nurse, & veteran: Captain Phoebus
> 
> Corey Hu, co-owns dance/martial arts studio & martial arts instructor: Captain Li Shang
> 
> Asia Green (16): Princess Jasmine
> 
> Bradley "Brad" Pritchard (17): Aladdin
> 
> Zane Francis (7), Paige's brother: Zephyr (Hunchback of Notre Dame II)
> 
> Carmen Negrosso, dance/martial arts studio secretary & waitress at the Rabbit Hole: Angelica Teach (PotC)
> 
> Sarah Jacobs, self-defense instructor: Queen Guinevere
> 
> Charles "Charlie" Flynn, firefighter: Flynn Rider/Eugene Fitzherbert
> 
> Rupert Hannover, firefighter: Commodore James Norrington
> 
> Jude Emerald, Gypsy's brother & real estate agent: Clopin the gypsy
> 
>  
> 
> AN: I've been thinking on future pairings for Lenore/Lucy and Jake/Edmund. Here are some possibilities:
> 
> Lenore/Peter Pan (per reader's request)
> 
> Lenore/Jack Frost
> 
> Lenore/William Turner III
> 
> Lenore/Prince Ralphie of Maldonia (obviously older than in the movie!)
> 
> Jake/Merida of DunBroch
> 
> Jake/Tuffnut Thorston
> 
> Jake/Wendy Darling
> 
> Jake/Lilo Pelekai (obviously older than in the movie!)
> 
> Leave me a comment if you have a preference or opinion on these pairings or any suggestions not listed here.
> 
> Please comment or leave kudos if you enjoy this story! (Flames are not welcome here, thank you.)


	5. ...And Miles to Go Before I Sleep

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter meets the Huntsman in the Enchanted Forest.

** Chapter Five: …And Miles to Go Before I Sleep **

****

                “Emma!” Graham called after his deputy as she left the diner.  “Let me explain.”

                The blonde woman whirled around on the dark street to face him.  “There’s nothing to explain,” she said, her face carefully blank.  “You’re a grown man; it’s none of my business who you sleep with.”

                Graham’s dark eyes filled with guilt.  “I need you to understand.  Regina and I…it’s complicated,” he admitted.  He realized that if he wanted a chance at _anything_ with Emma, he needed to clear the air now.

                “Complicated,” echoed Emma.  “Is that why you feel the need to sneak out of her house like a common criminal instead of using the front door?”

                “She doesn’t want Henry to know,” he admitted.

                “Well at least she’s got that part of her priorities straight,” snapped Emma.  “And why do you need me to understand anyway?”

                “Because…”  Impulsively he darted forward and kissed her.  When he did, something strange happened; he saw flashes of a strange, half-familiar wolf.

Emma pushed him away.  “What the hell, Graham?” she snapped.  “You’re drunk.  That was crossing the line.”

“I’m sorry,” he said.  “I just need to _feel_.”

“Look,” she said, sighing, “I think we both need some space here.  I need to process… _this_ and you need to sober up.  I’ll see you tomorrow, Graham.”

                “Emma…”

                “Goodnight, Graham,” she called back to him as she walked away.

****

                _Peter had been wandering these blasted woods for a week and still there was no sign of any of his siblings.  The woods were strange and dark, though in places they seemed almost…_ enchanted _.  Peter took to avoiding the main roads (made of dirt and stone) after his near miss with a sinister, black carriage and so spent most of his time in the deepest, darkest recesses of the trees.  It was there that he first came across the Huntsman and his wolf companion, crying over his latest kill and thanking it for its sacrifice._

_“Why do you do that?” asked Peter, stepping out from behind the trees into the Huntsman’s vision._

_“Why should I not,” said the man harshly.  “Is his life any less precious than a human’s?”_

                Graham woke the next morning with the headache from Hell and a vague feeling of loss in his chest.  He glanced over and saw that he hadn’t dreamed up running to Regina after Emma rejected him.  The feeling of loss grew until it was a deep, aching throb in his chest.  Mechanically he sat up in the bed.

                “Graham, are you alright?” asked Regina.

                “I had a strange dream,” he admitted.  “I was hunting in the woods and there was a wolf, with one blood red eye and the other black as night.”

                “It was just a dream,” Regina said, trying to sooth him.

                “It felt like a memory,” he insisted, standing to pull on his pants and then sitting back down to get his boots on.

                Regina leaned in close and laid a hand on his arm.  “Stay,” she said, part command and part plea.

                Graham was not swayed.  “I have to go,” he said, his strange dreams making him agitated.  He swiftly gathered his belongings and left by means of the front door.

 

                Graham walked back into town and made his way to his car over at Granny’s.  He stopped dead when he saw the wolf, a near twin to the one from his dream, standing in the middle of the road just a few feet away.  He fumbled with his keys and dropped them.  He bent to pick them up and when he looked up again the wolf was right there, staring at him.  Startled, he stumbled and the wolf ran off.

                After parking his car at the station and checking in, he wandered around town for a bit on foot.  Eventually he found himself in Gold’s Pawn Shop.  He browsed through the shelves with nothing particular in mind.  It was soothing, in a way, the mindless perusal of Gold’s inventory.  He was nearly startled out of his skin when he discovered he wasn’t the only one there.

                “Can I help you?” asked the familiar voice of Lenore Gold.  The thirteen-year-old stepped out from the back room.  “Papa’s out right now, but I’m more than capable of assisting you should you need it.”

                “Thanks, but I’m fine,” said the sheriff, sparing a small smile for the sunny child.

                Her stormy blue eyes seemed to pierce into his soul as she stared at him oddly.  “Are you alright, Sheriff Graham?” she asked, concern evident in her voice.

                “I’m fine,” he insisted once again.  “Just—strange dreams, that’s all.”

                Lenore made a small noise of understanding.  “I get those sometimes too,” she admitted.

                “Oh?” said Graham, curious for reasons he could not explain.  “What do you dream about?”

                Lenore smiled softly.  “I dream of a beautiful land full of magical creatures and the freedom of sailing the seas,” she said.  “I dream of magnificent royals and glorious battles, but most of all I dream of a Great Lion.”

                Something shifted and crackled in the air when she spoke of the Lion.  Graham shivered.  “It’s a wolf for me,” he said.  “I dream of hunting and of pack, of running free through the woods without the constraints of society.  Mostly though, I dream of the wolf.”

                Lenore smiled serenely.  “Perhaps he is important to you then,” she suggested, “just as I am sure the Lion is important to me.  I might not know how or why, but somehow I know He is.”

_Had Peter not once ruled over a land filled mostly with Talking Animals and other magical creatures, he might have answered differently.  “Every life is precious,” he said regally.  “I simply do not often come across men who take the time to admit that.”_

_The Huntsman turned to look at Peter, meeting the teenager’s icy blue stare with his own.  “I may be a man by birth, but I hold no respect for the race.  My family is the wolves who raised me and loved me, not the humans who abandoned me and show no respect for other creatures.”_

_Peter gave the older man a shallow bow.  “You are wise, Huntsman,” he said.  “I am honored to have met you.  I am Peter, lately of Narnia.  May I know your name and that of your companion?”_

_“I have no name,” said the grey-eyed man.  “I am called simply the Huntsman by other humans and Brother by the wolves.  My companion has no need for a name either; he is my Brother as I am his.”_

                Graham continued to search for the wolf, but all he found were half-glimpses, distant howls, and flashes of white fur.  He finally spotted the creature near the edge of town and followed it into the woods.  Graham was fast, but the wolf was faster.  The creature made it to the top of a ledge near the town border while Graham was still panting at the bottom.  “Are you going to let me catch up?” he called out.  The creature, of course, didn’t answer, but the sheriff swore that it smirked down at him before it ran off, disappearing before it reached the town line.

                As he turned to make his way back to town, he nearly ran into Mr. Gold.  “What are you doing out here this early?” he asked the older man harshly.

                Mr. Gold, leaning heavily on his cane, clutched a shovel in his other hand.  “Gardening” he said.  “What brings you out here, Sheriff?”

                “I was following the wolf,” he admitted.

                “A wolf?” said Gold.  “As far as I know there _are_ no wolves in Storybrooke.”

                “I think it’s the same wolf from my dream,” said Graham.

                “Dreams are strange things, dearie,” said Gold.  “More often than not there’s more truth in them than there initially appears to be.”

                “Do you believe that we might have lived other lives once?” Graham asked on a whim.

                “I believe that anything’s possible,” the older man said.  “Good day sheriff.  Good luck with your wolf.”

_“May I then choose names to call you?” asked Peter respectfully.  “You have earned my respect, Brothers, and I wish to give them to you as a gift to show this.”_

_The Huntsman stared at the strange boy, who was no older than fourteen, and nodded.  “We will accept your gifts, Peter of Narnia.  What would you call us?”_

_Peter contemplated the two for a moment.  “Your brother I would call Reep, after one of the most noble and fearsome creatures I have ever known.  You I would call Remus.”_

Graham was sure he was going crazy.  Despite Lenore’s assurances that he was not the only one to dream of strange things, he simply could not find peace with himself.  He finally caught up with the wolf after Gold left and on impulse he whistled for it.  Strangely enough, the creature came and stood still in front of him.  Trembling, Graham reached out a hand and touched its head gently.  When he did, flashes of half-familiar images floated through his mind.  He saw himself, dressed in leather and fur, talking with a familiar golden-haired teen and then sparing the life of an equally familiar woman with hair as black as ebony.  He gasped in shock and when he came back to himself, the wolf was simply gone.

               

“Are you alright, Graham?”

                The brunette sheriff looked up sharply from where he leaned against his car in the school parking lot.  Standing in front of him, concern etched into his tanned face, was the blue-eyed teen from his vision, grown into a man now.  “Ben?” he said unsurely.

                Ben looked at him quizzically, overlong golden hair flopping haphazardly into his eyes.  He pushed it back.  “Yeah, who else would I be?” he said.  “Are you okay there, Graham?  You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

                “I’m not sure I haven’t,” he replied.

                “Oh?” said Ben, quirking an eyebrow.  “What happened, man?”

                “You’ll think I’m crazy; _I_ think I’m crazy.”

                “Try me,” said Ben, his face blank, but his eyes sincere.

                “There was a wolf,” Graham explained, “and when I touched him, I got these… _flashes_ of something.  Memories of a past life, maybe.  Whatever it was didn’t happen in Storybrooke, but I was there…and so were you.”

                “Me?” said Ben.

                “Aye,” said Graham.  “When did we meet, Ben?”

                The young man frowned thoughtfully.  “When I was a kid, I think,” he replied slowly.  “I’m pretty sure it was one of the times Astrid snuck me into town when I was young.”

                Graham’s face fell.  He didn’t remember that, but if _Ben_ did…maybe there was more wrong with him than he thought.  “Oh, right.  Have we ever gone hunting together?”

                Ben laughed, crystal clear and bright.  “Me?  Hunting?  Sorry, Graham, but you know the sisters would never have let me within ten feet of any kind of gun and I’ve only been away from them for a few months now.”

                Graham’s face fell.  “Right,” he said.  “Don’t know what I was thinking.  Thanks for the help, Ben, but I’ve gotta get going now.”

                “Are you sure you’re okay, Graham?” Ben asked his older friend, his voice uncertain.

                “I’m fine, Ben, really.”

_“Remus?” said the Huntsman.  “Is there some significance to this name?”_

_“Remus and Romulus were twins in the days of old,” explained Peter.  “They were raised by wolves—like you—and Romulus went on to one day found a great city of men.”_

_“And Remus?”_

_“His tale ended tragically; he was killed by his own brother.  A fate I hope does not befall you.”_

_The Huntsman—Remus—nodded to Peter.  “These names are acceptable, but they are just for you; no one else may use them.”_

_“I will honor that, Remus, Reep,” he said, bowing graciously to them._

                Graham stood awkwardly in the doorway of Miss Blanchard’s fourth grade classroom as the kids filed out around him.  “Hello Graham,” said Mary-Margaret as he stepped further into the room.  “How can I help you?”

                “How long have we known each other, Mary-Margaret?” he asked, staring at her intently.

                “Oh, it’s been a long time; years, I guess.”

                “Yes, but when did we meet?” he asked urgently.  “Do you remember?”

                The teacher frowned.  “It was a long time ago…”

                “Yes but we should remember _something_ ,” insisted Graham.  “Anytime I try to think back, my memories are all fuzzy and blurred like they’re not real.”

                “It was a long time ago,” protested Mary-Margaret weakly.  “Memories grow hazy with time…”

                “Do you believe in other lives?” Graham asked abruptly.

                “What, like Heaven?”

                “No, like past lives.  Do you think we might have known each other in a past life?”

                “Graham,” said Mary-Margaret, hesitantly stepping forward, “I think you might need to take some time off.  You don’t look so good.”  She felt his forehead with the back of her hand.  “You’re burning up; you need to go home and get some rest.”

                “Just tell me.”

                The raven-haired teacher sighed.  “I suppose it’s possible,” she said.  “We might have known each other.”

                Graham gave a small sigh of relief.  “I think we did,” he said slowly.  “I was a hunter and you—you were a princess, I think.  I-I tried to kill you.”

                “Graham,” Mary-Margaret stepped closed and put her hand on his arm, “even if that _was_ real, that was another life.  I promise not to hold it against you.”  She chuckled.  “You know, that almost sounds like one of the stories in Henry’s book.”

                “What book?”

                “Henry’s book of stories,” explained Mary-Margaret.  “He’s convinced that everyone in town is in it; that we’re all storybook characters trapped in this world because of a curse.”

_“What is a boy like you doing alone this deep in the woods?” asked the newly christened Remus, picking up his kill and slinging it on his back._

_“I’m afraid I’m terribly lost,” admitted Peter.  “I’ve been wandering around for the past week looking for my brother and my sisters, but I’ve no idea where I am.  What is the name of these woods?”_

_“You are in the Enchanted Forest, my young friend,” replied Remus.  “It is very easy to get lost in here if you are unfamiliar with the land.”_

_“Oh dear,” sighed Peter.  “I’m afraid I’ve never heard of this Enchanted Forest before.  It’s not in Narnia is it?”_

_“I’ve never heard of Narnia,” admitted Remus.  “This part of the forest runs through Alba and Gilden.”_

_Peter’s shoulders sagged in defeat.  “Then I’m afraid I’m more lost than I thought.  My siblings and I were last together in Narnia before we stepped through a door in the air.  We tried to hold together…but I felt Lucy and Edmund’s fingers slipping from mine.”_

_“You must be from another realm,” said Remus.  “I’ve heard tell of portals that reach between different realms, but there are precious few who can control them.”_

“When did these flashes start?” Henry asked Graham as they sat together on his bed in his room, the storybook siting open in Henry’s lap.

                “After I kissed Emma,” admitted the sheriff.

                “You kissed my mom?” said Henry, incredulously.  Graham gave him a look.  “What did you see?” the boy asked, wisely dropping the subject.

                “There was a wolf,” said Graham, “and I had a knife…I was going to kill a woman with raven hair…Mary-Margaret, I think.”

                “I know who you are,” said Henry, flipping through the pages of his book.

                “How?”

                “Well, Mary-Margaret is Snow White,” explained Henry, “so if you tried to kill her that makes you…” he stopped flipping at a picture of a man whose face was covered with a raised knife, “the Huntsman.”

_“I knew a man once who claimed to be a Realm Jumper,” said Peter, having to jog to keep up with Remus’ longer stride.  “Perhaps there was more to his claim than I thought.”_

_“Will he come looking for you?” asked Remus._

_“Not likely,” said Peter.  “That was a whole other lifetime ago.  There’s a very good chance he’s been dead for centuries.”  Remus gave the blonde teen a strange look.  “I’m a lot older than I look, Remus,” said the younger man cryptically._

Graham felt good, liberated even.  He was finally free of Regina and all of the feelings of emptiness that their relationship gave him.  He couldn’t help but smile as he dabbed at the cut by Emma’s eye.  This was a chance for a new beginning for him.  Emma smiled at him and he couldn’t help himself; he bent close and kissed her lips passionately.

                Images flashed before his eyes, more vivid and intense than ever before.  The wolf, Mary- _Snow White_ , Be- _Peter_ , and Regina- _the Evil Queen_.  “I remember,” he said, eyes wide and voice awed.

                “Remember what?” asked Emma.

                “Everything.”  Emma gave him a strange sort of look and he smiled at her.  “It doesn’t matter,” he assured her and he leaned in to kiss her again.

                Suddenly he felt a strange, squeezing pain in his chest, causing him to lose his breath.  He fell to the floor, gasping and his last thought before blackness greeted him like an old friend was that he wished he could wipe the terrified, heartbroken look off of Emma’s face.

_Nearly a year Peter spent in the woods with Remus and Reep, learning to hunt and growing up all over again, until the Evil Queen came and stole his newest brother from him.  Peter vowed then that there was nothing he wouldn’t do to save his brother from Regina’s service and give him back the freedom he so cherished.  So it was that the golden young man found himself drawn into Snow White and Prince Charming’s rebellion and when a certain dark curse swept over that land, he was carried along with everyone else to a quaint little town in Maine where magic was a thing of fairy stories and Regina still ruled supreme._

“Lenore? What are you doing up so late?  You have school in the morning.”

                “Hmm?”  Lenore looked up from the book in her lap to blink dreamily at her Papa.  “What did you say?”

                Gold smiled indulgently at his daughter, leaning heavily against her doorframe.  “Got caught up in a good book again, did you?” he said fondly.

                “It’s the most intriguing story I’ve seen in a long while,” she admitted.

                “Alright, just make sure you’re in bed soon, dearie,” he said.

                “Yes, Papa,” replied Lenore.  Gold nodded to her once and turned on his heel, shutting the door behind him.

                Once the door was shut, Lenore stared down at the book in her lap again.  She waved her hand over the open pages and they shimmered a lovely gold color and transformed into a small, wooden box.  Lenore opened the box and stared at the glowing object inside.  “I’m sorry,” she whispered into the box, “but it had to be done.  I hope that one day you’ll forgive me.  This really is for the best you see; _He_ told me so.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alba: King Leopold/Snow White's kingdom
> 
> Gilden: King Midas/Abigail's kingdom
> 
> Err...so Remus and Reep were the first names I could think of for Graham and his wolf friend's EF names. I felt they were somewhat appropriate, so I decided to just go with them.
> 
> Comments & kudos are much appreciated! They make my plot dragons happy! (Please, no flames.)


	6. Conceal, Don't Feel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucy meets Rumpelstiltskin in the Enchanted Forest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Here we begin to diverge from Once cannon. Hope you enjoy the changes! ;)

** Chapter Six: Conceal, Don’t Feel **

****

“Are you coming to Granny’s with us today?” asked Paige as she and Henry met up with their older friend after school let out for the day.  “We’re supposed to meet up with Emma and come up with ideas for something to help her win the sheriff elections tomorrow.”

                Lenore shook her head regretfully.  “I’ve got a project I’ve got to work on today,” she said.  “In fact, it might take me a couple days to finish, so you guys go ahead without me.  I’ll catch up with you at school tomorrow, alright?”

                “If you’re sure,” said Henry, glancing over at Paige.

                The blonde girl shrugged.  “I’m sure it’s important, Henry,” she said.  “Let Len alone.  I’ve heard Mr. Peace is pretty tough.”

                “Okay,” said Henry.  “You sure you don’t mind?” he asked Lenore again.

                “Go ahead,” she said, smiling softly at him.  “I’d rather know you two were helping Emma than sulking because I couldn’t be there.”

                “We’ll talk at lunch tomorrow,” promised Henry.  “We’ll tell you _everything_.”

                “Of course,” said Lenore.  “Have fun and tell Emma I said hi.  I’ll see you guys later.”

_Lucy had been wandering this strange forest alone for what felt like weeks (she wasn’t sure, without any way to accurately keep track of time).  After she had pulled the thread that would change their fate, she had found herself in a strange, unfamiliar land, separated from her siblings.  The gift that Aslan had given her, her magic, practically sung with happiness in this new world.  She knew, somehow, that this wasn’t her original world (there was no magic there, for one), nor was it her beloved Narnia that she had once again left behind.  She recalled that Jefferson, when he had first arrived in Narnia, had claimed to have a magic hat the allowed him to travel between realms.  She had always believed in taking things on faith, so she’d had no trouble believing him.  She just never imagined that she would get to travel those worlds herself._

Lenore hummed softly to herself as she walked through the woods that surrounded Storybrooke on three sides.  Henry and Paige thought that she was headed home to work on a school project; Papa and Mr. Dove (their bodyguard) thought she was spending the afternoon with her friends.  Truthfully she was doing neither; she was headed to an old cabin in the woods that was owned by her Papa, but hadn’t been used in years.

She pushed open the door to the cabin gently and set her yellow, daisy patterned backpack down beside it, glancing over at the small bed in the corner of the room to make sure that it was still occupied.  She then shed her sweater and hung it on the hook beside the door before unzipping her bag and pulling out a pack of small bottled waters and a box of granola bars.  She padded over to the bed, her yellow converse making little noise on the wooden floor.  She knelt down beside the bed and gently felt the forehead of the man who was lying there, dead to the world.

“Sheriff Graham,” she said softly, “can you hear me?”

The man groaned and rolled over to face her.  He squinted his dulled grey eyes and said, “Lenore?” in a gravelly, cracking voice.

                “Yes, it’s me,” she said gently, removing a water bottle from the packaging and holding it to his lips.

                He drank deeply, staring at her the whole time.  “I thought I died,” he said finally, once he had drained the bottle.

                “You’re very much alive, Sheriff Graham,” Lenore said, pulling a granola bar out of the box and handing it to him.  “It was a near miss, though.”

                “How?” he asked, the granola bar remaining unopened in his hands.  “I remember—I remember kissing Emma and then I remembered _everything_.”  He sat bolt upright.  “Regina!” he shouted.  “She has my heart!  I have to get it back.  I hav—”

                “Calm down, Sheriff Graham,” said Lenore, laying a small hand on his chest and pushing him back down with surprising strength.  “Regina doesn’t have your heart.”

                “Yes she does,” he insisted, eyes wild with fear.  “Emma tried to help me find it, but we couldn’t—I remember Regina threatened to kill me if I ever tried to leave her, _before_.”

                “Sheriff—”

                “You don’t understand,” he said frantically, “ _I left her_.  She’s going to kill me.”  He frowned.  “I should be dead right now; why aren’t I?”

                “Regina can’t kill you, Sheriff Graham, because she doesn’t have your heart,” Lenore said calmly.  “I took it from her.”

_Eventually the forest began to thin out and Lucy could make out majestic mountains in the near distance; maybe another day’s walk from her current location.  Nestled so snugly in the base of the mountains that it was almost invisible to the naked eye was a large, foreboding castle, complete with turrets and imposing gargoyle guardians.  Well, Aslan hadn’t named her His Lioness for nothing.  She had certainly earned her Valiant title many times, over the years, so she set off toward the dark castle without a second thought._

Graham stared at Lenore, mouth agape.  “ _You_ have my heart?” he said, bewildered.

                Lenore looked down and fiddled with the fabric of her white uniform blouse.  “I would give it back to you if I could,” she said, “but I don’t know how to put it back and there’s not enough magic in this world anyway.”

                “You remember,” said Graham, staring at the girl in a new light.

                “Yes,” said Lenore calmly.  “I started having these strange dreams around the same time that Emma came to town, but they’ve just gotten so vivid in the past couple of days.”  She looked at him strangely.  “Since the day you came to me about _your_ dreams, in fact,” she said.

                “You mentioned a lion when we spoke,” said Graham.  “Did you know then?”

                She shook her head.  “Not completely,” she said.  “It wasn’t until I broke into the Queen’s vault and found your heart that everything came back to me.”

                “You remember who you are,” said Graham.

                “So do you,” countered Lenore, raising a delicate brow at him.

                “I was—I _am_ the Huntsman,” he said.  “The Queen took my heart because I refused to kill Snow White for her and brought her the heart of a stag instead.”

                “My name is Lucy Pevensie,” said Lenore.  “I wasn’t originally from the Enchanted Forest, but my siblings and I landed there after our second adventure in Narnia.  We weren’t from there either, although we did rule that land for fifteen wonderful years.  I’m not sure, but I believe that my sister and brothers and I are originally from this land without magic.”

_Rumpelstiltskin was startled by a loud knock on his castle doors, interrupting his nightly spinning.  Furious at the disruption and longing to turn someone into a snail, he threw open the doors, ready to strike.  Instead, he paused, for standing there, reaching barely to his waist, was a small, smiling girl._

_“Hello, sir,” she said, her voice light and high, “I’ve been wandering around the woods for weeks and I saw your castle, so I thought that perhaps you could help me, or at least tell me where I am.”  Rumpelstiltskin stared at her, mouth agape.  This slip of a girl had come to the_ Dark One _for help?  Didn’t she know who he_ was _?  “Sir, are you alright?”_

_“I’m fine,” he snapped, before he let out a high-pitched giggling laugh.  “Perhaps I ought to ask you that question.  Do you know who I am, dearie?”_

_“No,” replied the girl honestly.  “My name is Lucy Pevenise, sir, and I’m not exactly from this world.”_

                 “What happens next?” asked Graham.  “Are we the only ones who remember our real lives?”

                “I’m positive that Regina remembers,” said Lenore, “and I’m nearly certain that my Papa does as well.  Beyond them, I can’t really say.  As for what happens next…” she suddenly looked sheepish, more like the young girl she was than the queen she had once (and always) been, “…I hadn’t really thought that far ahead.”

                Graham raised an eyebrow.  “What am I to do, then?  If you stole my heart from Regina, she’s probably going to come looking for me sooner or later.”

                “Well, you see she _would_ …if she and everyone else didn’t think you were already dead,” said Lenore.

                “What did you _do_ , Lenore?” asked Graham.

                “I sorta switched your heart out with another one in her vault.  I doubt she’ll figure it out unless the curse breaks, in which case it’ll be too late anyway.”

                Graham looked horrified.  “Someone else died in my place?” he said, voice tight and strained.

                “I’m sorry,” said Lenore, bowing her head and refusing to meet his eyes.  “It was the only way.”

                “Do you even know who she killed in my place?”

                “I’m sorry, Graham,” she said again.  “There were so many hearts down there; I let Aslan guide me to the ones I needed.  I’m not really a witch; I just have a small bit of magic that He gave me.  I can only believe that He had me switch your heart with the one that He picked for a good reason.”

_Rumpelstiltskin blinked his reptilian eyes rapidly.  “Not from this world are ya, dearie?  Are you a realm jumper, then?” he asked, trilling the ‘r’ in realm._

_“Not quite, sir,” she said, shifting restlessly on her feet.  “I would be more than happy to tell you my story, if I could just come inside.  You see, I’ve been walking a very long time and I would very much like to rest my feet, if only for a little while.”  A story in exchange for a place to rest her feet—well, it wasn’t a deal in the traditional sense, but…she couldn’t be much more than ten and there was just something about her that reminded him painfully of Bae—_

_“Come in, dearie,” he said, opening the door all the way and gesturing her inside.  The girl smiled brightly at him as she crossed the threshold.  “I must be losing my touch,” he muttered to himself as he closed the door.  She hadn’t looked frightened of him at all._

“How is Emma?” asked Graham, curiously.

                “She’s grieving, even though she tries to hide it,” said Lenore.  “Papa actually convinced her to run for sheriff against Mr. Glass, though.”

                “Wait, what?  Shouldn’t Emma have automatically gotten the job if they think I’m dead?  She is- _was_ my deputy.”

                “Well yes, but Regina tried to appoint her own puppet to replace you,” explained Lenore.  “Papa, fortunately, found a loophole—that’s his specialty, after all—that says that the mayor can appoint a _candidate_ for sheriff, not just throw someone into the positon.  So Papa, whatever his reasons may be, is helping Emma to run.  Personally, I think he wants the curse broken and having Emma as sheriff will guarantee that she stays here to break it, but that’s just my opinion.  Papa hasn’t actually _said_ anything to me.  He doesn’t know that I remember.”

                Graham nodded his head in understanding.  “So how long do I have to stay here?” he asked.

                Lenore shrugged and smiled sheepishly at him.  “Like I said, I hadn’t really thought that part through,” she admitted.  “It’s relatively safe out here and I can’t remember the last time Papa actually used this cabin…though that could just be the curse.”

                “You think I should stay hidden until the curse breaks,” said Graham, understanding dawning on his face.

                “It’s probably for the best,” admitted Lenore.  “It might be a while, but I promise to visit often so that you aren’t alone out here.”

                “It’s not like never been alone before,” said Graham.

                “I know, but you don’t have to be anymore, Graham,” said Lenore.  “You’ve got me now.”

_Rumpelstiltskin watched in fascinated silence as the girl—Lucy, she’d called herself—chattered on and on while warming herself in front of his fire.  She was a peculiar child, he thought.  She hadn’t so much as blinked at his strange, inhuman appearance or commented on his eccentricities.  Instead, she had made herself at home in his castle as if she had always been there.  Her small red sweater was thrown haphazardly over the back of his chaise lounge, her black-buckle shoes were placed neatly next to the hearth to dry, and she herself had decided to sprawl out like a cat on the plush, beige rug he kept in front of the fireplace._

_“Sir?”_

_“What?” he snapped, angry at himself for having been caught lost in his thoughts._

_“What may I call you?” she asked.  “I could keep calling you sir, but that just seems too impersonal.  Names have power, you know.  It’s always important to know the proper names of things; it’s what keeps us alive and vibrant.  Without proper names, we would all wither and fade; a sad fate, indeed, to befall any being, great or small.”_

 

                Lenore arrived home just after dark.  She quietly entered the salmon colored house and hung her jacket up by the door before slipping into the living room.  “A little late tonight, aren’t we, Lenore?” said her father from his favorite mustard yellow armchair.

                “Sorry Papa,” she said, sitting down on the couch and setting her bag on the floor.  “We lost track of time.”

                “I ran into Henry and Paige this evening,” he said, dark eyes boring into her.  “They said you came home early to work in a school project.”

                “Hm?  Oh, well, I just needed some time to myself, Papa.”

                Gold raised an eyebrow at his daughter.  “And you couldn’t find that here while I was out?”

                “I just went for a walk in the woods, Papa,” she said.  “I was never in any danger.”  Lenore had learned from the master that half-truths were often more effective than lies.

                He stared at her, his unnerving gaze never wavering.  “Very well,” he finally said.  “Please don’t do that again.  Let me know if you’re going to be out past dark; I do worry, dear girl.”

                Lenore smiled softly at him.  “I know, Papa,” she said.  “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

                “I wasn’t scared, Lenore, just worried,” he insisted.

                Lenore waved a hand dismissively.  “Same difference, Papa; I know you’re actually a big softie when it comes to me.” 

“Always,” he replied, smiling gently at her.  “Now shouldn’t you be headed off to bed, or is there something else you need?”

She looked at him sheepishly and asked, “I don’t suppose there’s any supper left, is there?”

Gold chuckled and stood, limping into the kitchen to fill a plate for her.  “Here you are, dear,” he said, handing her the ceramic plate filled with lasagna and green beans.  “Eat up and then go to bed.”

“Yes, Papa, thank you.”

 

_Rumpelstiltskin stared at the girl, head cocked slightly to the side in contemplative confusion.  He had never met anyone before who believed in the power of names in the same way that he did.  Of course, he knew that to know the true name of something was to possess power over it, but for a naïve young girl, she seemed to have a startling good grasp on the concept.  He could think of very few logical explanations as to why this might be.  “Tell me, dearie,” he said, joining her on the floor, “do you possess magic, perchance?”_

_“Only what has been given to me freely, sir,” she replied.  “And don’t think I don’t know that you’re trying to dodge my question.”_

_“I wouldn’t dream of it, dearie,” he said, hand over his heart in mock hurt.  “What say we make a deal?”_

_The girl looked up at him from her sprawled position, wide blue-grey eyes solemn.  “Someone I love dearly taught me that all magic comes with a price, especially the magic used to make deals.  I think I’ll find your name on my own, Sir, thank you.”_

It was late afternoon the next day before Lenore was able to sneak off into the woods to visit Graham.  She entered the small cabin and removed her jacket and backpack as she had before.  She again opened her bag and this time pulled out a paper carry-out bag from Granny’s and a silver, metal thermos decorated with Disney princess stickers.  “I brought you Granny’s lasagna and some coffee,” she said, placing them on the wooden table by the fireplace.

                “Thanks,” said Graham, gingerly getting to his feet and walking across the room.

                “How are you feeling today?” asked Lenore, pulling out a seat for the injured man before sitting down herself.

                “Much better,” he said, pulling the food out and digging in.  “I’m not sure what you did, but I feel less like a dying man today and more like an injured one.”

                “I had to make it look like you were dead so that Regina wouldn’t come after you anymore,” said Lenore.  “I’m not really familiar on how one goes about controlling a person with their heart, so I was kind of making it up as I went along.  I didn’t mean to hurt you, Sheriff Graham.”

                “As I hear it, I’m not going to be sheriff anymore; call me Graham,” he insisted.  “How did the elections go, by the way?”

                “Emma won,” said Lenore brightly.  “Papa set up this elaborate ruse so that she’d look the hero and then when she confessed that she knew he set the whole thing up, she won the support of the town and, thus, the election.  They’re having a celebration over at Granny’s for her right now.”

                “Good for her.  So why are you here with me instead of back there with all your friends?” he asked curiously.

                Sadness filled her eyes as she spoke.  “Do you have any idea how hard it is to face the people you love when they have no idea who you really are to them?” she asked.

                “I can’t say that I do,” he said.  “It was just me and my Brother back in the Enchanted Forest.”

                “Your wolf companion,” said Lenore.

                “Yes,” he said.  “He was my Brother in every way that matters.”

                “I have brothers too,” said Lenore softly, “and a sister.  All three are here, in this land, but none of them remember me.  They just know me as Lenore Gold, the daughter of the man who owns the town, not as Lucy Pevensie, their little sister.  It hurts to see them look at me and not truly know me, as they once did.”

                “Have you been avoiding your friends since you remembered?”

                Lenore nodded.  “I think Papa’s getting suspicious.  I’ve always hung around Paige and Henry for as long as I can remember, but now…there’s something painfully familiar about Paige, but I don’t know what it is.”

                “Do you know here from before?” asked Graham.

                “No, I don’t think so,” said Lenore.  “I was in the Enchanted Forest for only four years before the curse hit and in that time I rarely saw anyone outside of my Papa.  Before that I was in Narnia and no one there was affected by the curse; believe me, I’ve looked.  No one here is actually from this world either, except for my siblings, Henry, and I.  Anyone I knew from the time we ruled in Narnia is long dead, besides, and those were the ones I knew best; our second adventure to Narnia was much more short-lived in comparison.”

                “I knew a boy, briefly, in the Enchanted Forest, who spoke of your Narnia,” said Graham slowly.  “Perhaps he was one of your brothers.”

                “Perhaps,” said Lucy. “What was he like?”

                “He was noble and kind,” said Graham, “with golden hair and eyes of blue, not terribly unlike yours.”

                “That sounds like Peter, my eldest brother,” said Lenore.

                “Aye, that name sounds familiar,” admitted Graham.  “Will you tell me more of your Narnia?”

                Lenore smiled brightly.  “Of course!” she said.  “The first time we found Narnia, we were playing hide-and-seek in the Professor’s mansion out in the English countryside. I had wandered up through the house to a spare room and inside it there was this beautifully carved, wooden wardrobe…”


	7. No One Is Alone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In Narnia, the royal family welcomes their newest member.

** Chapter Seven: No One Is Alone **

_“I think it’s a girl.”_

_Queen Susan stroked her protruding belly gently.  “What makes you say that, Jeff?” she asked her husband of two years._

_He shrugged his broad shoulders and buried his face in her dark curls.  “Just something Lucy said to me.”_

_Susan arched a delicate eyebrow.  “Oh?” she said.  “What has my dear sister been telling you now, Jefferson?”_

_“Well, she was helping me pick out names, just like you suggested, but when I started to tell her my choices for boys’ names, she laughed.  I asked her what was so funny—Thakaraiah is a perfectly respectable name, thank you!—and she told me there was no reason to pick out a boy’s name because we’re having a girl.”_

 

“So who are these twins who framed you for shoplifting yesterday?” Paige asked Henry as they and Lenore walked home after school.

                “Ava and Nicholas Zimmer; they’re fifth graders,” said Henry.

                “Who were they before the curse?” asked Lenore curiously.

                “I haven’t quite figured that out yet,” the boy admitted.  “Wanna help me?”

                “Granny’s?” asked Paige.

                “That’s what I was thinking,” said Henry.  “Are you coming Lenore?”

                “Sorry,” said the older girl, a guilty sort of look crossing her face, “but I promised Papa I’d go straight home after school today.”

                “You’re never around anymore,” complained Paige.

                “I’ve had a busy week,” said Lenore, defending herself.  “I promise things will go back to normal soon.”

_“Did she say why she was so certain?” asked Susan._

_“She just said that she had a feeling.”_

_“Hmm.”  Susan began to run her fingers though Jefferson’s chestnut waves, which he had recently let grow down to his chin.  “You could do with a haircut, Jeff,” she commented absently._

_“You’re dodging the subject, Su.”_

_Susan sighed, her fingers pausing in their stroking motion.  “Jeff,” she said, “I’ve learned over the years to trust Lucy’s ‘feelings,’ as they generally turn out to be correct.”_

_“So you’re saying that we’re having a girl?”_

_“Most likely,” said Susan.  “Are you terribly disappointed?”_

_The grin that spread across the retired realm jumper’s face was stunning.  “Disappointed?” he said.  “How could I be disappointed?  I’m going to be a Papa!”  He hugged his wife around the shoulders and she let out a peal of laughter like a babbling brook.  “Our daughter is never going to want for anything, I promise.”_

_Susan’s smile reached all the way to her ice blue eyes and lit up her face like the noonday sun.  “Of that I have no doubt,” she said merrily._

 

                Paige and Henry parted ways with Lenore outside of Granny’s; they went inside and Lenore headed on toward her house at the edge of town.  The two ten-year-olds entered the diner and took up their favorite booth inside.  They smiled at Ruby as the waitress handed them their usual (cocoa with cinnamon for Henry and Darjeeling tea for Paige) and Henry pulled out the book for them to look through.

                Henry let Paige, who was sitting next to him, turn the pages in the book while he looked on.  “What about them?” she asked curiously, pointing to a picture of a blonde little girl in a white dress pulling a face at a fuming, brunette boy in leggings.

                Henry looked at the picture.  “No,” he said, “they’re not brother and sister.  That’s Princess Odette, the Swan Princess, and Prince Derek.  I’m pretty sure they’re teachers at our school.”

                “Oh,” said Paige, flipping on through the pages.  “What about them?”  She stopped at a portrait of a pair who was obviously twins; the boy and girl, dressed in Viking style clothes, both had long blonde hair and were depicted petting a strange, two-headed dragon.

                “No, they’re too old,” said Henry.  “I’m pretty sure I’ve seen them around the High School Wing at the Academy.”

                “Okay then,” said Paige.  She continued to turn the pages carefully.

                Henry scrutinized each page as the blonde girl turned them.  “Wait, go back,” he suddenly said, hand brushing against Paige’s as he hastily flipped back to a picture of a brunette boy and a blonde girl in peasant garb walking through a dense forest, holding hands.  “That’s them,” he said.

                “Who are they?” asked Paige curiously.

                “Hansel and Gretel.”

_“What is she to be called?” asked Lucy, tired and still slightly sweaty from helping to deliver her niece, but otherwise her usual cheerful, sunny self._

_Jefferson, Peter, and Edmund had joined the girls in Susan and Jefferson’s rooms to welcome the newest addition to the royal family.  Susan smiled, exhausted, but happy, from her reclined position on her large four-poster bed.  Dear Lucy sat beside her, all smiles and laughter, as they watched their kingly brothers fuss and coo with the proud Papa over the small ivory wrapped bundle in Jefferson’s arms.  “Jeff?” said Susan.  “Would you like to do the honors?”_

_Jefferson was enamored by his tiny newborn daughter.  Already she had a tuft of wispy blonde hair atop her small head and though her eyes were blue like all newborns, he secretly hoped they’d lighten into the same icy blue as his wife’s.  This tiny miracle had already stolen his heart with naught but a glance and she was barely two hours old.  “Her name is Grace Lucy,” he said.  “She is named after the two most important women in her life: her gentle, gracious mother and her valiant, faithful aunt.”_

                Henry found Emma at the sheriff’s station after he and Paige parted ways outside the diner.  “I figured out who Ava and Nicholas Zimmer are,” he said.

                “Oh?” said Emma.  “Who are they?’’

                “They’re Hansel and Gretel,” said Henry excitedly.

                “Like with the gingerbread house and the witch who eats kids?” asked Emma, pausing her movement to stare at him strangely.

                “Exactly,” said Henry, excitement evident in his voice.  “Their dad didn’t abandon them; they were separated when the Queen tricked them into getting something from the Blind Witch for her.”

                “Henry…” sighed Emma, “even if your faitytale theory _is_ true, who’s to say he’s even in town anymore.” 

“No one leaves Storybrooke,” insisted Henry.  “He’s still here; you just have to find him.”  Emma sighed and stepped into the main room.  Henry followed behind her.  “So…” he said, “now that I’ve told you about _their_ dad, do you think you could tell me about mine?”

“Henry…” sighed Emma.

“Please?” asked Henry, sitting down on top of the desk and looking up at her hopefully.

Emma sighed in resignation.  “Fine,” she said.  “It was just after I aged out of the foster system.  I was working at this little twenty-four hour diner…”

_“Let us welcome our new niece, Princess Grace Lucy to the family,” said Peter, smiling brightly.  “May your life be long and full, darling girl.”_

_“May you grow in grace and wisdom to love and serve our people,” said Edmund, his dark eyes bright with emotion._

_“May Aslan bless you and watch over you all the days of your life,” said Lucy._

_“Welcome to the world, Princess,” said Jefferson, eyes fixed resolutely on the child in his arms.  “May you never want for anything.”_

_“May you find much joy and laughter in your life, dear child mine,” said Susan, “and may you be loved all the days of your life.”_

“So has Emma found their dad yet?” Paige asked curiously.

Henry shook his head.  “No,” he said, swinging his feet off the edge of the castle.  “She left the station pretty fast, though.  I think she’s got an idea of where to look.”  He fell back into contemplative silence.

“Is everything alright, Henry?” asked the blonde girl, concern evident on her face.

“Yeah, I’m great,” said Henry.  “It’s just…Emma told me about my dad earlier.”

“Really?  That’s pretty exciting,” said Paige.  “Aren’t you happy?  I thought you wanted to know about him.”

“I did—I _do_ ,” said Henry.  “It’s just…she told me that he’s dead.  I’ll never get to actually _meet_ him now.”

“I’m sorry,” said Paige, placing a gentle hand on his arm.  “I know how much you’ve always wanted a dad.”  She paused.  “Do you want to tell me about him?” she asked.

“He was a firefighter,” said Henry, smiling slightly.  “Emma met him when she was working at a diner right after she aged out of the foster system.  She said he always came in and ordered pie and then complained that they didn’t have pumpkin.  They weren’t married, but they hung out a few times outside of the diner and fell in love.  Emma said that their lives just took different paths and she was arrested.  She tried to contact him when she found out that she was pregnant with, but she learned that he had died saving a family from a burning apartment building.”

“So he was a hero, then,” said Paige softly.

“Yeah,” said Henry, smiling brightly, “he was.”

 

_Peter, as High King of Narnia, had performed the marriage of Susan and Jefferson.  He expected to also be the one to announce to their people the birth of the new princess of the realm.  However, when Aslan Himself arrived, Peter was only too honored to give the Great Lion the pleasure of doing so Himself._

_On the appointed day, Aslan stood with the monarchs and Jefferson, Prince Consort of Queen Susan, and addressed the gathered masses.  “Gentle beasts and beings all,” He said, “it gives me great pleasure to present to you, on this day in the tenth year of the Golden Age of Narnia, your new princess.  To all the corners of the land, I give you Princess Grace Lucy the Blithe.  May your reign be light and merry, young princess, and may you follow in the footsteps of your family and grow in faith, kindness, justice, and strength.”_

 “I brought you pumpkin pie,” said Henry, stepping up to the open window of the police car and smiling at Emma inside.  At her confused look, his face fell slightly.  “It _was_ pumpkin, wasn’t it?”

“Of course,” said Emma, expression softening.  “Thanks, kid.”

“Sure,” he said, smiling up at her as she climbed out of the car to join him outside.  “So did Ava and Nicholas’ dad come for them?”

“Yeah, he did,” said Emma, smiling.  “All he needed was a little push.  Give me that, kid,” she added, taking the box from him.

Henry smiled up at her as she opened it up.  Suddenly the roar of a motorcycle filled the air.  Henry looked down the dimly lit street to see a lone motorcycle, lit by a single headlight, heading toward them.  It stopped just across the street and the rider stepped off, removing his helmet.  “Is this Storybrooke?” he asked, his eerie blue eyes fixed on Emma.

“Yeah,” said the blonde sheriff.

“Could you point me in the direction of a hotel?”

“What?”

“I just need a place to rest my head,” he said, smiling a strange sort of smile at her.

“You’re staying?” asked Henry.

“That’s the idea,” replied the stranger, glancing down at the kid.

“Granny’s Bed and Breakfast is just a couple blocks down the road,” said Emma, gesturing down the street.  “You can get a room there.”

“Thanks,” said the man, turning back to his bike.

“Hey!” called Emma.  “I didn’t catch your name.”

He turned back briefly to smirk at her.  “I didn’t give it,” he said.  Without another word, he mounted his bike and replaced his helmet before taking off down the road.

“I thought you said strangers don’t come to Stroybrooke,” Emma said to Henry, cocking a questioning eyebrow at him.

“They don’t,” said Henry, meeting her green gaze with wide, surprised eyes and a small smile.  He knew it!   The curse was finally weakening.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ariella Swanson, kindergarten teacher: Princess Odette (Swan Princess)
> 
> Micah Swanson, 6th grade teacher: Prince Derek (Swan Princess)
> 
> Rodney & Patricia "Trisha" Montgomery (15): Ruffnut & Tuffnut Thorston (How to Train Your Dragon)


	8. Not In My Castle on a Cloud

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In Narnia, Jefferson and Lucy bond.

** Chapter Eight: Not In My Castle on a Cloud **

****

Henry came running up to Paige and Lenore at recess, tears in his dark brown eyes.  “It’s gone,” he told them frantically.  “It’s all gone!”

“What’s gone, Henry?” asked Paige, concerned.

“Everything,” said Henry, flopping down on the ground beside them.  “The storm last night knocked the castle down and the book is gone!”

“Wait, how is the book _gone_?” asked Lenore, brow furrowed in confusion.

“I buried it in a box under the castle and when I checked to see if it was still there, it wasn’t,” said Henry sadly.

“What!” exclaimed Paige.  “How’d that happen?”

“I don’t know,” said Henry.  “Either the storm washed it away or…”

“Or your mom has it,” said Lenore, voicing the fear that none of them wanted to be true.

_Jefferson was shown to a large, opulent library on the ground floor of the castle while the four Narnian monarchs considered his request.  He was told that he was more than welcome to browse the bookshelves while he waited, but he was kindly asked to remain in the room for the time being.  If the Dark One hadn’t offered to pay him such a large sum for this particular job, he would have been sorely tempted to just up and leave.  This seemed to be a lot of trouble to go through for some measly plant juice._

_“Sir?”  Jefferson had barely settled into one of the plush burgundy couches that littered the room, hat in hand, when a small, dark haired servant boy arrived._

_“Yes?” he said irritably; these child monarchs could at_ least _have given him time to snoop around if they were going to make him wait._

_“Queen Lucy requests your presence in her garden now, sir.”_

_Jefferson stood up and placed his hat atop his head.  “Let’s not keep the queen waiting, then.”_

“Did anything interesting happen at school today kids?” Gypsy asked as she placed a platter of chicken fingers on the dinner table.

                “Do we _have_ to have chicken fingers again?” asked Zane, pulling a face of disgust.

                “I’m sorry I’m not as good a cook as Dad, but he has to work nights this week, so you’ll just have to deal,” said Gypsy, sitting down in her seat.

                “Thanks, Mom,” said Paige quietly, taking her share of the chicken.

                “You’re very welcome, Paige,” she said.  “Now, which of you is going to tell me about your day first?”

                “Sky and Justin got into a fight today over Missy Whelan,” said Zane, smothering his chicken with ketchup.

                “Did they now?” said Gypsy, emerald eyes twinkling with mirth.  “Why would they do that?”

                “Sky asked Missy to be his girlfriend, but Justin wanted to ask her too.”  Zane pulled a face.  “I don’t know what the big deal is,” he said.  “Girls are icky.”

                Paige rolled her eyes.  “That’s cause you’re _seven_ ,” she said primly, pushing the chicken around her plate as if that would make it disappear faster.

                Gypsy sighed at her daughter.  “Paige, leave your brother alone and stop playing with your food,” she said.  “I know you don’t like chicken fingers, but if you eat those, I’ll call Auntie Lois and have her bring over dinner tomorrow night.  How’s that sound?”

                Paige considered it for a moment.  “Deal,” she said, squirting ranch onto her plate and cutting into her chicken with her fork.  “Our castle got knocked over in the storm last night,” she told her mother as she began to eat, “and Henry’s fairytale book went missing.”

                “Oh dear,” said Gypsy.  “Did it get carried away in the storm?”

                Paige shrugged.  “We’re not sure,” she said.  “Henry thought it might have, but it’s also possible that someone took it.”

                “Well, I hope that Henry gets his book back soon,” said Gypsy.  “I know how much you kids love those stories.”

                “Oh Mom, they’re so much more than just _stories_ ,” said Paige.  “They’re like whole other _worlds_ for us to explore.”

_It was a surprisingly short trip through the open corridors of the castle to the queen’s garden.  The garden was a small thing, crowded with a variety of flowering plants and bushes in a rainbow of colors.  Near the center stood a small, three tiered fountain made of a rough, grey stone.  It was there that the youngest queen sat, dipping her bare toes into the cool water._

_“Queen Lucy,” said Jefferson’s boy guide, “I’ve brought the stranger, as requested.”_

_The queen turned to look at them, a smile playing on her soft, pink lips.  “So I see.  Thank you, Cedric.  That will be all.”  The boy bowed and left, leaving Jefferson alone with the young queen._

_“Your majesty,” said Jefferson, bowing and sweeping his hat off his head in one smooth gesture, “to what do I owe this most gracious invitation?”_

_There was a strange, calculating look in her stormy blue eyes as she held his gaze.  “Come, sit with me, Sir Stranger,” she said after a moment’s time.  Jefferson obliged her, setting his hat down on the ground beside him.  The queen, with her yellow skirts kilted up to her knees and her legs bare, looked more a child than ever.  They sat in silence for a while before the queen finally spoke.  “I fear that we have not been properly introduced, Sir Stranger.  May I have your name?”_

_“I am Jefferson, of the Enchanted Forest,” he obliged her._

_“Jefferson,” she said, tasting the name on her tongue.  “Odd, but I feel it suits you.  I am called Lucy the Valiant, Queen of Narnia.”_

A frantic knock on the door during breakfast startled Paige as she ate her bowl of Cocoa Puffs and watched her mother frantically attempt to pack lunches for both her and Zane (she almost told her that they both bought lunches on Wednesdays, but it was just too funny to watch).  “Zane, honey, could you get the door?” Gypsy called out to the seven-year-old boy who was just now plodding down the stairs, uniform shirt rumpled and feet bare.

                The door opened.  “Paige, it’s for you!” the boy yelled across the house.

                Paige glared sullenly at her soggy cereal and pushed it away.  “I’m coming,” she yelled back.  She walked into the front hall to see Henry, red-eyed, standing there staring at his feet.  “Henry,” she said, her voice softening, “are you okay?”

                “Mom had the castle torn down,” he said, his voice thick with tears.  “That was _our_ spot, Paige.”

                “Mom, I’m gonna walk to school with Henry today,” she called out, picking up her bag from its spot beside the door.

                “Wait, Paige, your lunch!” Gypsy yelled frantically, running into the front hall holding a brown paper bag out to her daughter.

                “Thanks, Mom,” said Paige, pulling Henry out the door.  “I’ll see you later.”

                Once the door was shut behind them, Paige turned to Henry.  “Tell me _everything_ ,” she said as they walked down the street together.  “When did this happen?”

                “Yesterday,” said Henry.  “It was after you went home.”

                “Does Lenore know?” asked Paige.

                Henry shrugged.  “I went to her house this morning on the way over to yours and she wasn’t there.  Mr. Gold told me she left for school already.”

                Paige frowned.  “She left awfully early,” she said.  “Do you get the feeling that something’s going on with her that she’s not telling us?”

                “Well, she _is_ thirteen; maybe she has a boyfriend she doesn’t want to tell us about?” suggest Henry, trying to be optimistic.

                “I’m pretty sure she’d at least tell _me_ if she did,” said Paige. “She doesn’t really have many other friends.”

                “Everybody likes her though,” said Henry.  “Maybe she’s finally growing up; Mom always said that it was only a matter of time.”

                “No,” said Paige firmly.  “Not Lenore.  I’m sure there’s a better explanation.  I just wish she’d _tell_ us.”  She shook her head forlornly.  “Enough about her, though.  What are we gonna do about the castle?”

                “There’s not much we _can_ do,” said Henry.  “The crew Mom hired went in this morning to start demolition; I saw it on my way over.”

                “Any news on the book?” she asked hopefully.

                Henry shook his head.  “No,” he said, “but in this case that might be good news; it means my mom doesn’t have it after all.”

                “I suppose that’s something,” agreed Paige.  “I just wish we knew what happened to it…”

_“A pleasure, my queen,” said Jefferson, taking her small hand in his and kissing her knuckles softly._

_Queen Lucy smiled sadly.  “I am not such a vain peacock as my sister, Jefferson of the Enchanted Forest, that you need flatter me to gain my favor.”_

_Jefferson was taken aback.  Usually his suave, flirtatious personality was exactly what women of_ any _age wanted from him.  “I-I beg your pardon, your majesty, but I’m sure I don’t know what—”_

_“Please, Jefferson,” she said, something in her eyes sharpening,” do not take me for some naïve young girl, smitten by the first pretty face to show interest in her.”_

_Jefferson smirked.  “So you think I’m pretty.”_

_Queen Lucy rolled her eyes, a sparkle of amusement in their stormy depths.  “Don’t flatter yourself, Jefferson.  I’m a fifteen-year-old girl; I still think boys have cooties,” she teased._

_Jefferson grinned; not a smirk, but a genuine full-fledged grin.  “Cooties?” he said.  “I’m not sure I’ve heard of those before.”_

_Queen Lucy’s smile faltered briefly.  “Oh, yes.  You wouldn’t have.  It means that boys are gross…or so say my brothers when I show the least interest in_ anyone _.”_

_“Ah, yes, that is a common plight amongst us boys—or so I’m told.”_

“I just heard; I’m so sorry Henry,” said Lenore, joining her friends in the hallway outside Miss Blanchard’s classroom.  “Is there anything I can do?”  
                “Any way your dad can stop my mom?” asked Henry.

                Lenore gave him a lopsided smile.  “Sorry, Henry,” she said.  “You know that’s not my Papa’s way.”

                “Where have you been?” asked Paige abruptly.  “We’ve barely seen you since Sheriff Graham died.  We _need_ you, Len.  We’re not the three musketeers without you.”

                “I’m sorry, Paige,” the older girl said, staring down at her sneakers guiltily.  “I just have a lot going on right now that I can’t really talk about.”

                “Are you ever gonna tell us what’s going on with you?” pressed Paige.

                “We worry about you,” added Henry.  “If you’re in trouble, you know you can tell us, right?”

                “I know,” said Lenore, her stormy eyes serious, “and I promise I’m not.  Good things come to those who wait, right?  Can you just trust me that when it’s time, you two will be the first to know?”

                “You promise?” asked Henry.

                “I promise,” said Lenore.

                Henry looked at the blonde girl with wide, pleading eyes.  “Alright, fine,” huffed Paige.  She narrowed her eyes at the older girl.  “You’d better not break your promise.”

                “I’m a Gold,” said Lenore solemnly, as if her name explained everything (which it kind of did).  “We _never_ break our promises.”

_Queen Lucy giggled.  “You are quite the character, Jefferson,” she said.  “Is it true that you’ve traveled to other worlds besides Narnia?”_

_If Jefferson was surprised by the young queen’s sudden change of topic, he didn’t show it.  “Now, I thought you royal types didn’t approve of magic,” he said._

_Queen Lucy blushed a delicate shade of pink.  “Well, not strictly, no.  Our family has had some bad experiences with magic in the past, but I know that not all magic is bad, even if the others are beginning to forget.”  She suddenly looked sad.  “They forget that it was magic that brought us here in the first place.”_

_Jefferson cocked a dark eyebrow in question.  “You haven’t always ruled this land?” he asked._

_Queen Lucy’s child-like laughter filled the garden.  “Goodness no.  We only became the rulers of Narnia seven years ago, by the grace of Aslan.  Before that, this land was ruled by a cruel woman known as the White Witch who fancied herself queen of Narnia…”_

“Where are you taking me?” asked Graham as he walked alongside Lenore through the thick woods surrounding the town.  “I thought you said that your dad’s cabin was the safest place?”

                “It was,” said Lenore, “and now it’s not.  My friends are staring to poke around in my business and so is Papa; it’s only a matter of time before one of them decides to follow me out there and you’d get found out faster than you can say ‘Rumpelstiltskin.’”

                “And that’s…bad?” asked Graham.  “I suppose I can understand not telling your dad—he can be a right scary man—but why not tell your friends?”

                “I want to protect them,” said Lenore.  “Not that I think the mayor would hurt her own son, but she _would_ hurt Paige if she thought she knew something she wasn’t supposed to.  No, it’s best for now to keep them both in the dark.”

                “And me?” asked Graham, raising an eyebrow at the teen.  “Are you ever going to tell me where we’re going?”

                Lenore stopped and pointed.  “There,” she said, staring straight ahead.

                Graham looked up over the ridge at the large, opulent house just poking out above the tree line.  “What’s so special about that house?” he asked.  “Is it another one of you dad’s?”

                “Actually,” said Lenore, “it’s one of the few houses in Storybrooke that my Papa _doesn’t_ own.  C’mon, Graham, we mustn’t be late.”  She took off over the ridge without as much as a backward glance at the former sheriff.

                “Why?” asked Graham, his long strides making it easy to catch up to the petite girl.  “What else is up there?”

                Lenore turned and flashed a smile at the man.  “Your new roommate,” she said, a cheeky grin on her face.  “Come on, Graham, further up and further in!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DUN DUN DUUUUNNN! Who is Graham's mysterious new roommate? Stay tuned to find out! ;)
> 
> (No, seriously, I'm not even sure who it is. I thought I had it all figured out when I was writing it, but then as I started on the next chapter, I realized that my original idea didn't work, so...I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens with this particular plot point. Don't worry; I promise not to leave it unresolved!)
> 
> Skylar "Sky" Horner (7): Little Boy Blue
> 
> Justin Plum (7): Little Jack Horner
> 
> Michelle "Missy" Whelan (7): Little Miss Muffet
> 
> Lois Bell, Gypsy's maternal aunt, retired nurse: Laverne the Gargoyle
> 
>  
> 
> As always, comments & kudos feed the savage plot dragons, so tell me what you think! (No flames please.)


	9. What Once Was Mine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucy meets Belle in the Enchanted Forest.

** Chapter Nine: What Once Was Mine **

****

Jake was trading out his pre-algebra book for US History at his locker when he heard a small thump and a groan from the other side of the open metal door.  Smiling slightly, he shut his locker and locked eyes with the short, gangly brunette slouched beside him.  “Was it Bronwyn again?” he asked his friend sympathetically.

                “She looked right through me like I don’t even exist,” lamented the other boy, burying his freckled face dramatically in his hands.

                Jake glanced across the hallway at the alcove where the Academy’s top jocks always hung out between classes.  There were six of them and they always seemed to travel as a pack.  Liam’s cousin, Ashton McGowan (a big, burly boy with dark brown hair and a misogynistic attitude), and Brian Ingram (an even larger blonde boy who was secretly a genius and a sweetheart when you got him away from his friends) were the star players of the football team.  The twins Rodney and Trisha Montgomery (both were tall, skinny, and blonde with terrible manners and a penchant for bickering non-stop with each other) were the star players of the boys’ basketball team (Trisha insisted that the other girls were wimps, so she had bullied her way onto the boys’ team in middle school and no one had dared kick her off in the years since).  Then there was Bronwyn Hoffman (petite and blonde she might be, but she could level any of the football players with a forceful shove or an icy glare) and Maggie MacIntire (petite and hot-tempered with wild, untamable red curls), the stars of the all-girls lacrosse team. 

“Do you ever think that maybe it’s time to give up on her, Liam?” Jake asked his friend, nudging the other boy’s prosthetic leg (lost in a car accident less than a year earlier) gently.

                Liam gasped dramatically and clutched at his chest with his fist.  “Give up on perfection?” he said.  “Nothing shall ever compare to the beautiful vision that is my fair Bronwyn!”

                “I don’t think she even knows your name,” said Jake blandly.

                Liam groaned again.  “Way to kill my dreams, Jake, thanks,” he said without any real bite.

                “It’s my duty as your best friend,” he quipped back.

                “How about we find _you_ a girlfriend and then I can tease you too,” suggested Liam, turning his green gaze on the pale boy.

                Jake sighed.  “Bronwyn’s not your girlfriend, Liam,” he said.

                “Not _yet_ ,” he said, “but someday…”

                “When pigs fly, maybe,” snorted Jake.

                “Hey, what about Dora Peterson?” said the brunette, ignoring his raven-haired friend.  “She’s not seeing anyone.”

                “Yeah right,” said Jake.  “That brother of hers is scary.”  Liam looked confused.  “Sam Peterson?  The kid with blue hair?  He’s in our grade?”

                “Sam’s Dora’s brother?” said Liam.

                “Yeah, where have _you_ been all our lives?”

                “I thought they were just friends!  He looks nothing like her _or_ Molly.”

                “He’s adopted, genious,” said Jake.  “The point is, I’m not going to date Dora Peterson.”

                “Okay, what about Trisha Montgomery?  Lorelai Locke?  Maggie MacIntire?”

                “No, no, and no, Liam.  I’m perfectly happy being single,” he said, dark eyes drifting briefly over to the gaggle of sports stars across the hall.  “Besides, I get enough relationship drama from both you _and_ my sister; I don’t need any of my own right now.”

                “Is your sister still seeing that David guy?” asked Liam.  “I thought he was married.”

                “He is,” said Jake shortly, “hence the drama.  They apparently were going to date, then David decided to go back to his wife, and now they’re pretending they’re not seeing each other when they actually _are_ seeing each other.”

                “Your life is complicated, dude,” said Liam sympathetically.

                “Tell me about it.”

_Belle wasn’t sure what to expect when she agreed to come serve Rumpelstiltskin in exchange for saving her father’s lands from the ogres.  She didn’t regret her decision, but that didn’t mean that she wasn’t apprehensive about living with the Dark One; she’d heard the stories.  The very last thing she’d expected, though, was the vibrant little girl who lived with him._

_”You will serve me my meals, and you will clean the castle,” said the Dark One from his seat at the long dining table._

_“I-I understand,” said Belle, standing nervously in front of him._

_“You will dust my collection and launder my clothing.”_

_“Yes.”_

_“You will fetch me straw when I am spinning at the wheel.”_

_“Got it.”_

_“Oh,” he added, “and you will skin the children I hunt for their pelts.”  Belle, in shock, dropped the tea cup that she had been holding.  “That was a quip.  Not serious.”_

_“Right,” she said hesitantly, bending down to pick up the cup.  “Oh…my.  I’m so sorry, but, uh…it’s chipped.”  She showed him the cup.  “You- you can hardly see it.”_

_“Oh, it’s just a cup,” Rumpelstiltskin said, waving her off._

_Child-like laughter filled the room.  “I should certainly hope you don’t go around skinning children, Papa,” said a small girl, all rosy cheeks and chocolate curls, much like Belle’s own.  “I’d hate to think you just keep me around for my pelt.”_

_“I’d never do that to you, Lucy dear; you’re much too sweet for any spell or potion of mine.”_

_“I’m so glad,” she said dryly, her rose-petal lips twitching into a smile.  She then turned her stormy eyes on Belle.  “Who’s our guest, Papa?” she asked.  “Are you going to introduce us?”_

_“Lucy, Belle; Belle, Lucy.  Belle’s our new housekeeper, Lucy dear.  And Belle—” he fixed his cold gaze on her, “—Lucy is my daughter; if you do anything to hurt or upset her, I_ will _make you regret it.”_

                “Jake, I’m going out with the girls tonight,” said Mary-Margaret, grabbing her sweater from the stand by the door.  “I’ll leave you some money if you’d like to order pizza from Tony’s.”

                “Can I have Liam over for dinner?” Jake asked.

                Mary-Margaret frowned.  “I thought this was his week with his mom,” she said.

                “Jane cancelled on him again,” replied Jake, “and Liam’s having problems with his dad right now.”

                “I guess that’s fine,” said Mary-Margaret.  “Don’t stay up too late, though.  You still have school tomorrow.”

                “I know,” said Jake, rolling his eyes at his sister.  “How’s it going with that guy you were seeing, by the way?  David, was it?”

                His sister started and stared at him with a deer-in-the-headlights look.  “Um…what?” she said.  “How do you know about that, Jake?”

                Jake rolled his eyes.  “Please, Mags, I’m fifteen, not stupid,” he said.  “You’ve been smitten since the guy woke up and squeezed your hand.”

                “How do you…”

                “You and Emma talk really loud,” he said, a look of faux innocence on his pale face.

                “You…you’re such a little sneak,” said Mary-Margaret, blushing bright red.

                “Your little sneak,” said Jake, giving his sister a little half-smile that he knew would melt her heart.

                It worked.  “Yeah, my little sneak,” she agreed.  “Just what else have you heard?”

                He raised an eyebrow at her.  “We’ve got _really_ thin walls,” he said, smirking.  He loved pushing his sister’s buttons more than almost anything else.

                Mary-Margaret’s blush deepened to a bright scarlet.  “Jake,” she said, “I’m so sorry…”

                “Don’t be,” he said, waving her off with his hand.  “It’s not your fault.  Now, about this David guy…”

                Mary-Margaret sighed heavily.  “It’s…complicated, Jake,” she said.  “We were going to give this… whatever we have a chance, but then he decided he owed it to his wife to try to make things work between them, so now things are just…complicated.”

                “But you’re still seeing him?”

                “Sort of…kind of?” replied Mary-Margaret, knitting her brow in confusion.  “That’s part of the complicated.”

                “Well, whenever you feel like uncomplicating things, I’m here to listen,” said Jake sincerely.

                “Thanks, Jake,” she said, smiling softly at her brother.  “I appreciate the offer.”

                “Hey,” he said, smiling his little half smile, “brothers are good for more than just eavesdropping and being annoying sometimes.”

                “Yeah, kiddo, sometimes you are.”

_That first night, as she lay in her cell, unable to sleep, Belle couldn’t help but think of the small, sunny girl whom Rumpelstiltskin seemed to care for deeply.  His daughter, he’d called her.  Belle had never heard that the Dark One had a child, but she supposed that anything was possible.  The girl—Lucy, he’d called her—was nothing like what she’d expect a child raised by Rumpelstiltskin to be.  She was bright and cheerful with a ready smile and a sharp wit.  She was the sunshine in this gloomy castle; the light in an otherwise dark home._

_As she contemplated the mystery of her new master’s daughter, she was startled by a small noise like rustling leaves outsider her cell.  “H-Hello?  Is someone there?” she called out, sitting up on her cot._

_“Miss Belle?”  Rumpelstiltskin’s daughter stepped into view, her face looking oddly wan in the torchlight.  “I-I just wanted to apologize for my Papa.  He’s trying to be a better person, but he struggles sometimes.”  She pulled out a small, cloth-wrapped package from a pocket in her lilac dressing gown and handed it through the bars.  “Here—it’s just bread and cheese, but I thought you might like it.”_

_Belle took the offering with a grateful smile.  “Thank you,” she said._

_The girl smiled back at her.  “You’re very welcome,” she said.  “Don’t take it too personally, Miss Belle; it takes Papa a while to warm up to most people.  I know it took him some time to warm up to me at first.  I’ll talk to him.  It’ll all turn out alright in the end, you’ll see.”_

“Do you ever feel like this town is turning into a big ol’ soap opera?” Liam asked, lounging on his stomach on Jake’s bed, his chin propped up on his fist.

                Jake swiveled around in his desk chair to face his friend and raised an eyebrow at him.  “How do you figure?” he asked curiously.

                “Well, you’ve got the feud going on between Sheriff Swan and the Mayor,” said Liam, rolling onto his back and counting out on his fingers as he began to list off his observations, “then there’s your sister’s not-so-secret affair with the ex-coma patient; Mr. Gold is always shady, but now you’ve got his daughter being all secretive and avoiding her friends; there’s Henry, the mayor’s son, who’s also the son of the woman she hates, so he’s being pulled in, like, five different directions; you’ve got the suspicious death of Sheriff Graham, who was _way_ too young and healthy to just drop dead from a heart attack like the paper said; and then there’s the stranger who no one wants to talk about, but everyone secretly spies on…need I go on?”

                Jake narrowed his dark eyes at his friend.  “Okay, so there’s been a lot of drama around town lately.  What of it?” he asked.

                Liam sat up and shrugged, eyes fixed on his fingers twining together in his lap.  “Nothing really,” he said.  “Just something I noticed.  Don’t you think it’s weird, though?  I mean, most of this drama didn’t start until _after_ Sheriff Swan came to town.”

                “You sound like Henry now,” said Jake, fixing Liam with a strange look.

                Liam looked up, fixing his unnerving green stare on his friend.  “Maybe the kid’s onto something here,” he said.  “You every consider that?”

                Jake scoffed.  “Sure,” he said, voice thick with sarcasm, “and I’m actually the king of fairytale land.”

                “Well, if Henry’s right, you very well _could_ be,” said Liam solemnly.

                Jake snorted.  “Give me a break, Liam,” he said.  “Henry’s just a kid with an overactive imagination, desperate for his mum’s attention.  That’s all there is to it.”

                “Ten bucks says you’re wrong,” said Liam, a mischievous twinkle in his eye.

                “I’ll give you one better,” said Jake, “if Henry’s right about his fairytale theory, I’ll ask out any girl you want me to, but if I’m wrong…”

                “Yeah?” asked Liam, intrigued.

                “If I’m wrong, you have to give up on Bronwyn Hoffman and move on with your life.”

                Liam looked thoughtful for a moment while he contemplated Jake’s counter bet.  For a second the confidence on his face wavered and Jake thought for sure that he’d back out.  “You’ve got yourself a deal,” he finally said, his confidence returning as he held out his hand for Jake to shake.

                Jake took it.  “Hope you’re ready to fill your end of the deal,” he said, smirking, “cause I’ve got this one in the bag.”

                Liam smiled widely.  “Don’t count your chickens before they hatch, Jake,” he said.  “I have a feeling about this one.”

                “Give it three months?”

                “Sure,” agreed Liam.  “That gives me plenty of time to prove Henry right.”

                Jake snorted.  “Good luck with that, mate,” he said.

_Lucy had been right.  Belle wasn’t sure she was surprised at that; there was something in the girl’s blue-grey eyes that spoke of a wisdom and understanding beyond her tender years.  Slowly but surely Rumpelstiltskin was warming up to her.  He gave her new clothes and an actual bedroom, but most importantly he trusted her with Lucy._

_“My Lucy wants to learn more about this realm,” he informed her one morning while she was serving them breakfast.  “You will teach her.”_

_“Papa!”_

_“What?  That was polite.”  Lucy glared at him.  “Alright,_ please _.”_

_“Thank you, Papa,” said Lucy._

_“The things I do for you, child,” he grumbled._

_“So will you teach me?  Please Miss Belle?” asked Lucy, bouncing in excitement._

_Belle smiled warmly at her.  “Of course I will, Lucy.  It would be my pleasure.”_

Jake usually wasn’t one to be late for school, but for some reason this morning he found himself running behind.  “Do you want some pancakes before you head off?” asked Emma, standing over the stove cooking breakfast.

                “Thanks, but I don’t have time,” Jake said, grabbing his worn, forest green backpack on his way out the door.

                He ran down the stairs of the apartment building and out onto the street.  As always, Liam was waiting for him on the corner of Main Street, nervously chewing on his thumbnail.  “You’re cutting it close today, Jake,” he said, relief evident in his moss green eyes as he caught sight of his friend.

                “Yeah, I had a bit of a rough start this morning,” he admitted, snagging the brunette by the arm and forcing him to keep pace or be dragged.

                The two teens practically ran toward the Academy.  The trip, which usually took them twenty minutes, only took fifteen and they made it into the building with minutes to spare.  They had almost made it into Ms. Goody’s classroom when Jake ran smack into a small person, causing him to ram into Liam and sending all three down to the ground.  “Oh, gosh, are you okay?” asked the girl, wiggling her way out from the bottom of the pile and pulling herself to her feet.

                “I’m good,” said Jake crisply.  “Liam?”

                The brunette boy groaned.  “My leg got knocked outta place,” he admitted, cheeks flushing red with embarrassment.  Jake smiled sadly at his friend and offered him a hand up.  Liam grabbed his prosthetic leg and took the offered hand, hopping to keep his balance as Jake steadied him against the lockers.

                “Are you okay?” asked the girl, concern evident in her English-accented voice.  “Do you need me to get the nurse?”

                “No, I got this,” said Jake.  He looked up for the first time and his face went white as a ghost when he saw who he had run into.  “L-Lenore Gold,” he croaked.  “Y-you’re—”

                Lenore rolled her stormy eyes.  “Yeah, I’m Gold’s daughter,” she huffed, crossing her arms over her small still-developing chest.  “What of it?”

                “Nothing,” said Jake hastily, holding up his hands in surrender, “I just…we don’t…I didn’t expect to see _you_ here.”

                Lenore raised an eyebrow at him and her pink lips twitched into a small smile.  “I _do_ go here too, Jake Blanchard,” she said.  “I don’t know where else you’d expect to see _me_ on a school day.”

                “That’s not—” Jake sighed and ran his fingers through his raven hair.  “I didn’t mean to offend you,” he said.  “I’m just not used to running into you here…or at all really.”

                “Ditto,” said Lenore, smiling up at him.  “I was just messing with you, anyway.”

                Overhead the final bell rang and Jake groaned, leaning his head back and smacking it into the lockers that ran along the wall.  “My sister’s going to kill me,” he said miserably.

                “Cheer up, Jake Blanchard,” said Lenore, smiling.  “Sometimes it pays to have a Papa like mine; just let me take care of everything and you boys’ll be off the hook.”

                “Why would you do that?” asked Jake, narrowing his eyes suspiciously.  “You barely know us.”

                Lenore shrugged and gave him a sad sort of smile.  “I just like helping people, I guess,” she said softly, but something in her eyes made Jake believe there was more to it than that.

                “Uh, guys, it’s great that we’re not in trouble or anything, but I’m still hanging around sans a leg here,” said Liam from the spot Jake had helped him lean against.  “One of you wanna help me get my leg back on or at least help me hobble over to Nurse O’Connor’s office?  This is actually _really_ uncomfortable.”

                Lenore giggled and Jake hurried to help his friend balance against his shoulder.  “I’ll come with you,” she said.  “We’ll get everything straightened out, promise.”

                “I’ll hold you to that,” said Jake.  “I _really_ don’t know what my sister would do if she found out I was late for school.”

                “She’d probably think it was some sort of teenage rebellion,” said Liam casually as he hopped down the hall, his arm around the raven-haired boy’s shoulders.

                “What were you boys doing cutting it so close this morning anyway?” asked Lenore curiously.

                “I overslept and this fool decided to wait for me instead of heading off on his own,” said Jake.

                “What were you doing coming in so late?” asked Liam.

                “Oh, I had something I had to take care of this morning and it took longer than I expected,” said Lenore vaguely.

                “You coulda just told me to mind my own business,” said Liam.

                “Now, that would just be rude,” said Lenore, smiling playfully.  “Not to mention far less amusing.”

                “You’re a strange girl, Lenore Gold,” said Jake, eying her speculatively.

                “Why thank you, Jake Blanchard,” she said.  “I do try.”

_“You should do something nice for Miss Belle, Papa.”_

_Rumpelstiltskin fixed Lucy with his reptilian stare.  “And why would I go and do something like that?” he asked, indulging her as any good papa ought to._

_“Well, besides the fact that I like her…because_ you _love her,” said Lucy simply, taking a ladylike sip of her tea._

_Rumpelstiltskin coughed as he nearly choked on his own tea.  Once he could breathe again, he said, “Wherever did you get that idea, Lucy dear?”_

_“I saw you two kiss yesterday.  You wouldn’t have let Miss Belle kiss you if you didn’t love her.”_

_Lucy wasn’t sure, as Rumpelstiltskin’s golden scale-like skin remained the same as always, but she imagined that her Papa blushed.  “That’s ridic- that’s prepos-_ she _kissed_ me _, I’ll have ya know, Miss Busybody.  Besides, I already gave her a library.”_

_Lucy squealed in delight.  “I knew it!  I knew you’d given her something big!  Did she like it?  Is that why she kissed you?  Is she staying with us forever?  Is she—”_

_“One question at a time, Lucy dear.  I can’t keep up.”_

_Lucy blushed, her cheeks turning pale pink.  “Sorry Papa.  I’m just so happy for you, for both of you, really.  Where is she anyway?  I know she’ll tell me everything.”_

_Rumpelstiltskin’s face fell.  “I sent her away,” he said softly.  “I let my temper get the better of me and now she’s gone.”_

_“Oh Papa.”  Lucy lunged across the table and hugged him tight.  “I’m so proud of you.  You did the right thing by letting her go instead of hurting her.  I’m sure she’ll come back; you’ll see.”_

_Rumpelstiltskin tightened his hold on his daughter.  When he spoke, it was so soft that even she could barely hear him.  “I hope so,” he said.  “I was a fool—I-I love her, Lucy.”_

                **_Earlier that morning, in a large mansion near the Storybrooke town line…_**

“How do you like your new place, Graham?” asked Lenore, sipping on her tea slowly.

                “It’s nice,” said Graham.  “A little lonely out here, but nothing I can’t handle.”

                “Oh?” said Lenore, raising a dark eyebrow delicately.  “How’s your new roommate treating you?”

                Graham shrugged.  “I haven’t seen much of her, to be honest,” he admitted.  “Who is she back home, anyway?”

                Lenore frowned thoughtfully.  “You know, I’m not quite sure,” she admitted.  “All I really know is that she’s someone that Regina goes to extraordinary lengths to avoid.  Her name here is Nadia Faire, as I’m sure she’s told you, but I have no idea who she was back in the Enchanted Forest.”

                “Does she remember, like us?” asked Graham.

                “I-I’m not entirely sure,” said Lenore, setting her china tea cup down on the coffee table in the opulent living room of Miss Faire’s mansion.  “She’s…different, for sure, but I’m not sure whether that’s just her cursed personality or if she was like that before.  If I knew who she was, I could tell you more.”

                “Who do you _think_ she is?” asked Graham curiously.  “And don’t tell me you haven’t given it any thought; I know you, Lenore.”

                Lenore giggled and glanced into the kitchen where their hostess was busy fixing a rather large breakfast of eggs, pancakes, bacon, toast, and fruit for herself and her guests.  Nadia Faire was a tall, willowy woman with hair as black as night that tumbled down her crème colored robe-covered shoulders in waves.  Her skin was porcelain pale and flawless; her eyes were a deep, unfathomable sapphire blue.  She had a small, pointed nose with an aristocratic turn and full, ruby red lips set in a long, oval face.  Lenore’s overall impression of her was that she had to be someone important; royalty or nobility, perhaps.  Regina’s active avoidance of her suggested that she was a fellow sorceress, perhaps one who (back in the Enchanted Forest) wielded more power than the Evil Queen.  “Someone you wouldn’t want as your enemy,” she said in answer to Graham’s question, turning her stormy blue eyes on him.  “Don’t mess this up, Graham.  I don’t think either of us would last if we ended up on Miss Faire’s bad side.”

                “If you think _I’m_ bad, you should meet my twin sister,” said Nadia from the kitchen, her alto voice melodious and strong, the presence of some sort of accent that Lenore couldn’t place coloring her words and making her seem all the more exotic and mysterious.

                “If it’s all the same to you, Miss Faire, I think I’d like to avoid that as long as possible,” said Lenore, shivering slightly.  “No offence.”

                “None taken,” said the older woman, sweeping into the living room as if she were wearing a gown rather than a robe and a skimpy navy nightdress.  “Natalia can be rather…intimidating, to say the least.”

                “If she’s as beautiful as you, I believe it,” said Graham without thinking.

                Nadia’s ruby lips quirked into a smile and her eyes sparkled with mischief.  “We’re nearly identical,” she said.  “Are you saying I intimidate you, Mr. Humbert?”

                Lenore smiled widely as Graham honest-to-God blushed and babbled, “W-well, I just mean—that is, you’re a lovely woman…very lovely, beautiful even, and I just—”

                “Smooth, Graham, real smooth,” said Lenore dryly.

                Nadia let out a musical laugh.  “I’ll take your babbling as a compliment, Mr. Humbert,” she said, gracing the handsome man with a brilliant smile.  “Flattery with get you _everywhere_ with me.”  She turned her attention to Lenore suddenly.  “How is your father doing, dear?” she asked, genuine concern in her voice.  “I heard about the incident with Mr. French.”

                “Oh, he’s fine,” said Lenore dismissively.  “He just let his temper get the best of him, is all.  Sheriff Swann arrested him, but it’s _Papa_ , so he obviously wasn’t held for long.”

                Nadia chuckled and Graham cracked a smile.  “That’s Tobais alright,” said the raven-haired beauty.  “He always manages to weasel his way out of whatever sticky situation he finds himself in.  Your Papa has a mean streak a mile wide, Miss Gold, and a temper to match, but when he loves, he loves fiercely and forever.  I think there was more to his attack on Mr. French than meets the eye.”

                Lenore fixed the older woman with her scrutinizing gaze.  “I could say the same of you, Miss Faire,” she said, a small smile creeping across her face.

                “And I of you, Little Lioness,” said Nadia, matching the girl’s smile with her own.

                “I feel like I’m missing something here,” said Graham, confusion etched on his handsome face.

                “Don’t worry your pretty little head about it, Mr. Humbert,” said Nadia airily.

                Graham turned to Lenore quizzically.  “I’ll explain later, Graham,” the brunette girl said.  “Just…I’m pretty sure we’ve got a new ally for our cause.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Liam McGowan (15): Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III
> 
> Bronwyn Hoffman (15): Astrid Hofferson
> 
> Ashton McGowan (15): Snotlout Jorgenson
> 
> Brian Ingram (15): Fishlegs Ingerman
> 
> Margaret "Maggie" MacIntire (15): Princess Merida of DunBroch
> 
> Dora Peterson (14): Lilo Pelekai
> 
> Samuel "Sam" Peterson (15): Stitch
> 
> Molly Peterson (27), Dora's older sister, grocery store clerk: Nani Peleaki
> 
> Lorelai Locke (14): Goldilocks
> 
> Dr. Jane McGowan, Liam's mom, Ewan's ex-wife, vet at animal shelter: Valka
> 
> Ursula Goody, 10th grade homeroom/HS biology teacher: Jane Porter (Tarzan)
> 
> Moira O'Connor, school nurse: Lady Isolde (King Arthur Legend)
> 
> Nadia Faire, twin of Natalia, heiress, philanthropist: Morgan LeFaye (King Arthur Legend)
> 
> Natalia Faire, twin of Nadia, heiress, party girl: Morgause (King Arthur Legend)
> 
>  
> 
> AN: I've gotta say, I always planned on having King Arthur characters spattered around Storybrooke ever since they introduced Lancelot in Season 2, but the whole reveal (SPOILER ALERT!) at the end of Season 4 about Merlin got me super excited, so I figured why not have a King Arthur character take a bigger role in this story? I just love the King Arthur legend in all its incarnations. :)


	10. Chapter 10: How Do You Catch a Cloud?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meet Benjamin Kingsley.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Finally, a new chapter! I've actually had this done and proofread for a few weeks now, but right around the time I finished, my grandma died. I haven't really been feeling in much of a creative mood since, but my mood's finally coming back up. Hopefully this will be the first of a string of new posts from me in the near-ish future.
> 
> AN2: Here we diverge some more from cannon in ways that I had dearly hoped would be addressed in later seasons but weren't. Oh well. Sorry, no Lucy or Edmund in this chapter, but they'll be back soon.

** Chapter Ten: How Do You Catch a Cloud? **

****

Ben kept a close eye on Sister Astrid as he lugged boxes of candles down from the convent with his fellow dock workers, Chad, Darren, and Loren.  Whoever had decided that his clumsy sister should be the one to get up on a _ladder_ , of all things, needed to get her head checked.  He was pretty sure it had been Mother Superior’s call, as always, and Astrid could never bring herself to say no to the woman who had had a hand in raising both of them.  He had just made up his mind to go over and help her out when someone else got there first. 

“What’s Leroy doing with your Sister Astrid?” asked Darren, pushing the floppy fringe of his chestnut hair out of his eyes.

“I don’t know,” said Ben, icy blue eyes narrowing suspiciously, “but I’m going to find out.”

_Ten-year-old Astrid Newport had been the first person to hold little Benjamin Kingsley when he was abandoned on the convent steps one night deep in the heart of December.  The baby, as far as the Sisters could tell, was only a few days old when young Astrid, heading out to fetch the morning paper, found him.  Ben was a strong baby to have survived at least a few hours out in the frigid could of a Maine December wrapped only in a thick, red, woolen blanket._

“So I think there might be something going on between my sister and Leroy.”

Ruby groaned and rested her head on Ben’s shoulder.  “You’re really killing the mood, honey,” she said.  “Are you sure you wanna talk about this _now_?”

Ben smiled sheepishly at his girlfriend.  “I’m sorry,” he said.  “I didn’t mean to; I just can’t get over it.  Astrid’s a _nun_ , for Christ’s sake!  I’m not supposed to have to worry about my _nun_ sister falling in love with _anyone_ , let alone _Leroy_!”

Ruby sighed and lifted her head from his shoulder.  “Leroy’s not as bad as everyone makes him out to be,” she said.  “He’s actually kinda sweet, under that gruff exterior.”

“That’s not the point!” said Ben, rolling onto his back in the bed and flinging his arms up.  “The point is that Astrid’s a _nun_ ; she shouldn’t be having romantic feelings for _anyone_!”

“Maybe they’re just friends,” said Ruby, rolling onto her side so that she could trace patterns on Ben’s bare chest.  “Nuns are allowed to have friends.  Have you talked to her about this?”

“No,” admitted Ben sheepishly.

“I didn’t think so,” said Ruby with a knowing smirk.  “I _know_ you, Ben, and you have a tendency to make assumptions first and ask questions later.  Maybe you should try something new this time.”

“But it’s _Astrid_ ,” protested Ben.  “I can’t just sit back idly and do nothing.”

“You’ve never been idle a day in your life,” said Ruby.  “You just need to relax, baby.”  She slowly ran her hands up his bare chest, eliciting a shiver from the younger man.  “Let me take care of you, Ben.  You don’t always have to be in control of everything.”

_Astrid found herself drawn to little Ben.  She had lived in the convent that occasionally doubled as an orphanage for as long as she could remember and planned to take her vows as soon as she was old enough.  With Ben, though, she found something that she’d never realized she was missing: a family.  She took it upon herself to care for the little orphaned boy and in return he loved her as big sister and a pseudo-mother all rolled into one.  When the Sisters praised her for her good deeds, she simply smiled a little half smile and combed her long fingers through little Ben’s blonde hair.  He wasn’t a charity case to her or something to gain the Sister’s praise.  Little Ben was simply her brother in everything but blood._

“Hi Ben!” said Astrid happily, waving wildly and smiling brightly at the blonde haired man.  “Have you heard the good news?”

“Mr. Gold decided to waive your rent this month?” suggested Ben, setting the down the heavy box of supplies beside her table.

“No, silly,” said the twiggy brunette.  “Leroy and Mary-Margaret sold all of our candles!”

“Did they now?” said Ben, raising a skeptical eyebrow.

“Leroy just told me,” she said, dark eyes bright with happiness.  “We’ll make rent this month after all, Ben!”  She pulled the taller man into a tight hug.

“I’ll have to thank him personally,” said Ben, his gaze sharpening toward the short handyman.  He smelled something fishy, and it wasn’t the lingering scent from working the docks.

“Be nice, Ben,” Astrid said sternly, catching on to the way that the blonde was looking Leroy.  “He’s been a big help; he’s actually a sweetheart once you talk to him.”

“So I’ve heard,” Ben said dryly.

_Astrid took her vows when she turned eighteen.  As she stood with Mother Superior and Father Dubois she couldn’t help but glance out at the congregation.  There, sitting in the very front row wearing a smile that stretched from ear to ear and into his sparkling blue eyes, was little Ben.  She couldn’t help but grin back; a genuine, face-splitting grin.  Mother Superior did not approve, but Astrid thought she saw a small smile on Father Dubois kindly, old face.  None of that mattered to her, though, because all she needed was her little Ben supporting her as she fulfilled her lifelong dream._

“Ben, you’ve spent more time tonight staring at Leroy than me,” complained Ruby, huffing loudly.  “This is supposed to be _our_ date night; leave the drunk alone with his beer and pay attention to your loving, _hot_ girlfriend.”

Ben blushed sheepishly and focused his attention back on his girlfriend.  “Sorry, Ruby,” he said.  “I’m just worried about Astrid.  I’ve never seen her so smitten before.  I just want to be sure that if she’s going to give up everything she’s worked her whole live for, it’s for someone who’s worthy of her.”

Ruby’s face softened and she laid her hand on Ben’s arm, squeezing gently.  “You’re a good brother, Ben,” she said, “but it’s Astrid’s life.  You’ve got to let her make her own decisions, mistakes and all.”

Ben sighed.  “I know,” he said, “but she’s my sister.  I just worry about her.”

“I know you care, Ben,” said Ruby, “but you’ve got to let this go and trust your sister…like I trust mine.”

“Well, when you put it like that, it sounds so _logical_.”

“I have my moments,” said Ruby, a smirk on her scarlet lips.  Ben grinned back and leaned over the table to kiss her soundly, all thoughts of Astrid and Leroy forgotten…for the moment.

_Ben had been homeschooled at the convent that doubled as an orphanage (though there were never more than ten children residing there; usually far less) for all of his young life.  When he was almost eleven, he came to Astrid, begging her to get Mother Superior to let him go to school in town with children his own age.  Astrid knew how lonely it could be at the convent as a child (especially since little Ben was the only boy out of the six children currently residing there).  She went to Mother Superior on multiple occasions for weeks, imploring her to allow little Ben to leave the convent and venture into town._

“I can’t believe him,” said Astrid, unshed tears shining in her dark brown eyes.  “I _trusted_ him.”

                “Oh Astrid,” sighed Ben, gently tugging the older woman down onto the couch beside him and pulling her into his arms, “I’m so sorry.”

                Astrid rested her head on her brother’s shoulder.  “I know you don’t really like him,” she said sadly, “but he was so sweet.  I really thought he was a good person.  What am I going to do now, Ben?  We’ll never make rent this month now and it’s all my fault!”

                “You know I’ll help out however I can,” said Ben, “but I’m no miracle worker.”

                That earned him a small smile from his sister.  “I never expected you to be,” said Astrid.  “You’re a grown man now Ben; you have your own life to live.  You shouldn’t have to deal with my screw-ups anymore.”

                “You’re my sister though, Astrid, and you’ll _always_ be my sister.  I’ll _always_ do whatever I can to help you,” he promised.

                “How could I let this happen?” she sniffed, wiping the tears from her cheek with the back of her hand.

                “You didn’t _let_ anything happen, Astrid,” said Ben soothingly.  “You’re a naturally trusting person, that’s all.  That’s not a bad thing, big sis.  It’s one of your best qualities, but…sometimes people take advantage of you because of it.”

                Astrid sniffed.  “I know,” she sobbed.  “I just can’t seem to do anything right.”

                “Oh, Astrid,” sighed Ben, “that’s the furthest thing from the truth.  I think you did a pretty great job of raising me.”

                “Yeah, well look at what I had to work with,” she said, a small smile appearing on her delicate face.

                “I am pretty awesome, aren’t I?” said Ben, smirking at Astrid.

                She whacked him lightly on the arm.  “Ben!”

                “What?  It’s not like I’m lying or anything,” he said cheekily.  “You’re the one who always tells me I’m the best little brother in the whole world.  I even have the coffee mug to prove it.”

_It was just after little Ben’s eleventh birthday (the day that Astrid had found him on the convent steps) when Mother Superior relented.  Little Ben would be allowed to attend school in town after Christmas break—on the condition that Astrid would be responsible for seeing him to and from school (the bus didn’t run near the convent as the Sisters generally taught the orphans themselves).  Astrid happily agreed, even offering to be his guardian for the school records (which Mother Superior agreed to as if it had been her plan all along), and ran off to tell little Ben the good news._

“The decorations look really nice this year, Astrid,” said Ben.  “You did a great job.”

                “Thanks, Ben,” said Astrid, her smile not quite reaching her dark eyes.  “I only hope we can raise enough money to meet Mr. Gold’s rent.  I don’t know what we’ll do if we can’t.”

                “Isn’t this where Mother Superior tells you that ‘God will provide?’” said Ben with a wry smile.

                “She would, except she blames me for this,” said Astrid, her lips falling into a slight frown.  She glanced wistfully over at the booth that was selling the convent’s candles.  “He’s not even there.”

                Ben sighed and pulled his tall sister close, under his arm, and rested his head on hers.  “I’m sorry, sis,” he said.  “I really wish things had been different.”

                Without warning, all the lights at the festival blinked out, plunging the convent grounds into darkness.  “What was that?” asked Astrid, wide eyes searching the grounds frantically.

                “I’m not sure,” said Ben, doing the same.  His eyes alighted on the candle booth and a smile slowly spread across his face.  “Actually, I have an inkling.”

                “What?”

                “You know how you always say that God will provide?” he said.

                “Yes?  What’s that have to do with this?” asked Astrid.

                Ben gently turned his sister so that she was facing the candle booth, where Mary-Margaret was selling candles left and right to frantic Storybrooke citizens.  “I think this is Him providing for you, Astrid.”

                “Or His angel,” she said, a soft smile on her lips as Leroy joined the school teacher at the booth to help her sell the candles.

_Little Ben was ecstatic.  The rest of Christmas break creaked by with the speed of a tortoise for the boy.  Finally school resumed as January rolled in.  That first day, little Ben was ready to go hours before most students were even awake.  He practically vibrated with nervous energy all the way through breakfast and his excitement was almost tangible the entire, albeit short, car ride into town.  His icy blue eyes were wide with wonder as he took in the landmarks that most residents took for granted: Granny’s Diner, Mr. Gold’s Pawn Shop, the clock tower stuck perpetually at 8:15.  This was his first time outside of the convent grounds and he savored every moment.  In almost no time, they reached the school and Astrid parked the car in the guest lot.  Astrid and little Ben climbed out of the car together and she hugged him close as he stared in wonder at the large building and the flock of children wandering in._

_“Welcome to Storybrooke, little Ben.”_

“Go on,” said Ben, gently pushing Astrid toward the candle booth where Leroy and Mary-Margaret were putting up a SOLD OUT sign.

                Ben cleared his throat, causing the two Storybrooke outcasts to look up.  “Astrid,” said Leroy, staring at her with longing in his dark eyes.  He turned back to grab a lock-box and presented it to her.  “Here you go; five thousand dollars, as promised.  I’m sorry I lied to you.”

                Astrid took the box.  “Oh Leroy,” she said.  “Thank you.”  She stepped toward him and pulled the shorter man into a hug.  “This means so much to me—to all of us, really.”

                Ben’s smile slowly turned to shock as his sister—his shy, predictable _nun_ sister—kissed Leroy full on the mouth.  Apparently he wasn’t the only one who saw either.  “Sister Newport, just _what_ do you think you’re doing?”

                Astrid, Leroy, and Ben all jerked their heads around and saw a scowling Mother Superior standing not three feet from them.  “M-mother Superior,” Astrid stuttered nervously, “I can explain.”

                “I _dearly_ hope so,” the delicate, stern-faced woman snapped.  “This is _not_ acceptable behavior for one of the Lord’s servants.”

                “Mother Superior—”

                “Keep out of this, Benjamin,” said the older woman sharply.  “This doesn’t concern you.”

                Ben gathered his courage and faced her head on.  “Actually, it does,” he said, blue eyes blazing passionately.  “Astrid might not be my sister by blood, as you so often remind us, but she’s my sister at heart and that’s what really counts.  If Leroy makes her happy then, God help me, I stand behind them one hundred percent.”

                Mother Superior’s dark eyes blazed with fury.  She turned her fierce gaze on the couple in question.  “Is this what you choose, Sister Newport?  You would _abandon_ your commitment to the Lord for the town drunk and this _boy_?”

                “Mother Superior,” said Astrid, her voice uncharacteristically strong, “while I appreciate everything you have done for me over the years, I am a grown woman able to make my _own_ choices.  I’ve been unhappy for a while now, Mother, and I’ve prayed extensively over this.  This is not a decision I make lightly, nor is it based solely on my affection for a man.  I’m not meant for this life; I see this now.  I thank you for raising me and giving me a chance to serve the Lord, but I cannot continue down this path.  Do what you will to me; my decision will not change.”

                “So be it,” said Mother Superior stiffly.  “You have one hour to gather your belongings and say your goodbyes, then you must leave the convent and never return.”  Before Astrid could respond, Mother Superior had turned on her heel and was stalking back into the convent.

                Astrid quickly deflated after Mother Superior left.  “D-Did I just do that?” she stuttered.

                “If you mean you gave ol’ Mom Supes what-for, then yes,” said Ben plainly.

                “I’ve told you time and again not to call her that, Ben,” said Astrid automatically, the response ingrained in her after so many years of telling him off for such disrespect.

                Ben rolled his eyes.  “Seriously, sis, learn to take a compliment,” he said.  “So, what are your plans from here?”

                Realization dawned in Astrid’s dark eyes.  “I have nowhere to go,” she said frantically.  “What am I going to do, Ben?”

                Ben pulled his sister out of Leroy’s arms and into his own.  “You’re going to come live with me for a while, Astrid,” he said.  “It’s my turn to take care of you, for a change.”

                “Thanks, Ben,” said Astrid, leaning her brunette head on his shoulder.  “I’m so lucky to have you as my brother.”

                “Well, _you_ picked _me_ , Astrid.”

                “Yes, I do have good taste, don’t I?”

                Ben smiled and kissed to top her head lovingly.  “Don’t ever change, Astrid.  You’re amazing just the way you are.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chad Noah Collins, dock worker (27): David Kawena (Lilo & Stitch)
> 
> Darren Pietrovitch, dock worker (25): Dimitri (Anastasia)
> 
> Loren Tait, dock worker: Sir Tristan (King Arthur Legend)
> 
> Father François Dubois, Catholic Priest: Archdeacon of Notre Dame (Hunchback of Notre Dame)
> 
>  
> 
> Also, if you have any thoughts on future pairings for Edmund or Lucy, leave me a comment and let me know. So far the voting from fanfiction.net sits thusly:
> 
> Edmund/Merida: 16
> 
> Lucy/Jack Frost: 12
> 
> Lucy/Peter Pan: 9
> 
> Edmund/Wendy: 7
> 
> Lucy/Billy Turner: 7
> 
> Edmund/Tuffnut: 3
> 
> Edmund/Lilo: 3
> 
> Lucy/Prince Ralphie: 1


End file.
